Foreign, Local Investors Eye Stake in Angola’s Biggest Insurer

(Bloomberg) -- Angola has received interest for a 51% stake in its largest insurer from both foreign and local consortia, and plans to sell the remaining portion through a listing on the stock market, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Duarte said.

Investors have until the end of Monday to submit non-binding offers for state-owned insurer ENSA - Seguros de Angola, Duarte said. 

The sale of a 51% stake in the insurer, also known as ENSA, has “raised some interest in the market,” Duarte said in an interview on Monday.

The deal is expected to be completed this year and is part of a push by Africa’s second-biggest oil producer to raise cash and jump-start a moribund economy. The government currently has 133 assets earmarked for sale by the end of 2022.

The Angolan government will sell its remaining 49% stake in ENSA in two to five years through the stock market, Duarte said. The sale of other holdings in state-run oil company Sonangol, diamond firm Endiama and national airline TAAG are slated for next year.

A low insurance penetration rate and a rebound in economic growth are expected to help draw investors to Ensa, Duarte said. An estimated 15% of cars in Angola have insurance coverage even though it’s mandatory, he said. The International Monetary Fund expects the economy to expand 0.4% this year after five years of contraction.

ENSA, which controls about 40% of the nation’s insurance market, also holds about 40% of Standard Chartered Bank Angola, a unit of Standard Chartered Plc. Duarte said the government has yet to decide whether ENSA will continue to hold that stake in Standard Chartered Bank Angola or transfer it to the Angolan state.

“ENSA was the vehicle used by the state to hold that stake in Standard Chartered,” Duarte said . “That stake can either remain with ENSA or it can be transferred to the sphere of the state.”

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