07 September 2021

The president of Angola, João Lourenço, has authorised the privatisation by public tender of 90% of the capital of Multitel Serviços de Telecomunicações, which specialises in providing internet services for businesses.

The leader explained in a new presidential decree that he had taken this decision because Multitel “does not meet the necessary conditions” for its privatisation via the IPO procedure.

The state’s share in Multitel amounts to 90%, via PT Ventures (40%), Angola Telecom (30%) and Banco de Comércio e Indústria (BCI) (20%).

Privatisation of Multitel falls within the framework of the 2018-2022 national development programme, which embraces the reform of the public finances of the executive. By 2022, the state plans to divest its stakes in the capital of 195 companies to restructure and resize the public sector of companies in Angola.

Angola’s oil-driven economy has been in recession since 2016, causing its debt-to-GDP ratio to increase from 57.1% in 2015 to around 120.3% in 2020, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB) in its report “African Economic Outlook 2021: From Debt Resolution to Growth: The Road Ahead for Africa”.

The Covid-19 pandemic has further weakened the country’s economy. Lourenço said at the launch of the privatisation program in 2018 that the money from the sale of Multitel and several other actions of public enterprises would help “promote macroeconomic stability, increase the productivity of the national economy and achieve a more equitable distribution of national income ”.