Angola has approved the sale of a 34% stake in Standard Bank Angola that was seized from businessman Carlos São Vicente, clearing the way for the lender’s planned listing on the country’s stock exchange.

The Capital Market Commission (CMC) approved the public offering of 4.76 million shares, equivalent to 34% of Standard Bank Angola’s share capital, according to documents released by the regulator.

The sale marks a major step in Angola’s effort to dispose of assets recovered through its anti-corruption drive while broadening participation in the country’s capital markets.

Government moves to sell seized bank stake

The Angolan government took control of a 49% stake in Standard Bank Angola in 2020 after authorities seized the shares from São Vicente, a former insurance and real estate executive.

São Vicente was convicted in 2022 by an Angolan court of multiple financial crimes, including embezzlement and tax fraud, as part of a wider government campaign to recover assets linked to alleged corruption.

The National Asset Recovery Service targeted his holding company, AAA Activos, and froze hundreds of millions of dollars connected to his business interests.

The government has retained the 49% holding since the seizure, making the planned sale an important test of Angola’s approach to recovered corporate assets.

Standard Bank Group gets priority

Standard Bank Group, which owns the remaining 51% of Standard Bank Angola, has the right to acquire an additional 24% of the Angolan lender.

Under the offer document, 24% of the shares being sold have been reserved for Standard Bank Group, while the remaining 10% will be offered to the public.

The structure would allow Standard Bank Group to strengthen its position in the Angolan banking market while giving local investors access to shares in one of the country’s major lenders.

Standard Bank Angola listing set for September

The public offering is scheduled to run from Sept. 11 through Sept. 25, with trading on Angola’s BODIVA exchange expected to begin Sept. 30.

The transaction could give Angola’s capital market a boost as the government seeks to deepen the local stock market and unlock value from state-held assets.

For investors, the Standard Bank Angola stake sale offers exposure to the country’s banking sector while putting one of the most closely watched recovered assets from Angola’s anti-corruption campaign into public hands.