Sonangol, Angola’s state oil firm, said it’s still working toward an initial public offering of as much as 30% of its shares.

“We are taking the steps that are needed, at least internally, for this process to begin,” Chief Executive Officer Sebastiao Martins said at a press conference in Luanda, the capital, on Tuesday. “What we don’t want is for external pressures to push us into making mistakes.”

Initially planned for 2022, Sonangol’s IPO would mark a major step in the oil-producing nation’s efforts to increase transparency and attract foreign investment as the government seeks to reduce the role of the state in the economy. The company is Angola’s largest and a major contributor to gross domestic product.

Angolan Oil Minister Diamantino Azevedo said the goal remains to dispose of 30% of Sonangol’s shares locally and abroad. The sale would be carried out in stages, he said at the same event, without giving details about the timing.

One reason the IP0 has stalled is a delay in ending fuel subsidies, Martins said. Angola spent 588.8 billion kwanzas ($639 million) on the subsidies in the second quarter of 2024, according to the Finance Ministry. .

Earlier on Tuesday, Sonangol said operating revenue fell to $10.5 billion in 2024, from $11.4 billion a year earlier, on lower crude prices. Average oil prices in 2024 dropped to $80 per barrel, from $82 per barrel in 2023, the company said.

Sonangol plans to retain its stakes in Portuguese lender Banco Comercial Portugues SA and oil company Galp Energia SGPS SA, Martins said. The Angolan company is the second-biggest investor in BCP with a 19.5% stake and owns an indirect stake in Galp through the Amorim Energia venture, which controls 36% of the Portuguese oil firm.

Source: BNNBLOOMBERG