(Bloomberg) – Angola’s state oil company Sonangol continues to prepare for a potential initial public offering, despite being excluded from the latest list of companies slated for privatization, board member Baltazar Miguel said.
“There’s a lot of work being done for the IPO,” Miguel told reporters at a press conference in Luanda on Wednesday. The company has completed debt sales and established an investor relations office, steps aimed at preparing for a possible listing, he said.
Sonangol was recently removed from the list of companies earmarked for privatization under Angola’s Propriv program, which runs through 2026. Miguel said the decision doesn’t mean the oil producer — one of the country’s largest companies and a key contributor to gross domestic product — has abandoned plans to list. He declined to give a timeline.
“There isn’t enough time to carry out the listing within the current privatization program,” Miguel said.
First announced for 2022, the IPO would mark a milestone in Angola’s push to improve transparency and attract foreign investment as the government seeks to reduce the state’s role in the economy. The initial plan was to sell 30% of Sonangol’s shares to domestic and international investors.
Delays to fuel-subsidy reforms have weighed on the timeline, Miguel said, alongside the company’s ongoing restructuring and disposal of non-core assets.
Earlier Wednesday, Sonangol reported that operating revenue fell 13% in 2025 to $9.1 billion as average prices for Angolan crude declined 14% to $69.09 a barrel. Preliminary net income is forecast to exceed $750 million for 2025, according to a company presentation.
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