Sonangol must escape former regime’s shadow to achieve IPO

Angola is unlikely to meet the official timeline for an IPO of state-owned oil giant Sonangol in 2026

NOC Sonangol is the largest asset on offer in Angola’s ambitious privatisation programme, alongside stakes in other companies including telecoms firm Unitel, the National Insurance Company of Angola and the Angola Debt and Stock Exchange. The last 5–7 years of rule by former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos—in power from 1979 to 2017—were marked by the “hollowing out” of state enterprises, explained South Africa-based risk consultant Marisa Lourenco. While Sonangol had previously been a technically competent company, the increased interference, culminating in the appointment of the president’s daughter, Isabel dos Santos, as the company’s head in 2016, “drove away competent staff”, Marisa L