The chairman of the board of directors of the Angola Stock Exchange and Derivatives (Bodiva), António Furtado, said yesterday that the record for negotiations in 2020 reveals the market’s appetite for more investment opportunities in Angola.
According to Furtado, the record of 1 trillion kwanzas (approximately £1.15B) in volume of negotiations of public debt market in 2020, “is a clear sign of market appetite for more investment opportunities, which increases the pressure for the operationalization of the country’s stock market”.
António Furtado stated that the second edition of the Bodiva Forum, which took place in Luanda yesterday, provides the market with an opportunity to share information and debate about its achievements and the challenges to be overcome.
On the occasion, the Angolan Treasury Secretary of State, Otoniel dos Santos, noted the “remarkable” growth of negotiations in Bodiva’s markets, which increased by 35.8% compared to the same period last year.
The institution went from over 100 billion kwanzas (£115M) in 2015 to over 1 trillion kwanzas in 2020, he said.
For the Angolan government official, the activities of the Angolan stock exchange in 2020 resulted in “total growth”, most importantly since it refers to “a company that is still trailing a path towards establishing itself”.
“It is also remarkable that Bodiva itself managed to have 15,000 investors with accounts in custody over that period,” he said, also highlighting the performance of the more than 25 Bodiva members, mostly banks.
“The responsibility (of delivering a viable stock market) rests with us all as makers of the capital market in Angola, because this route aims to allow the financial flow to reach the real economy in a transparent, efficient manner, with the confidence that is necessary “, he defended.
Angola’s Privatisation Program (ProPriv), which comprises the privatisation of more than 190 companies and/or assets of the Angolan State by 2022, was pointed out by the government official as a “strategic mechanism of the State” aiming at a “strong economic fabric that aggregates the agents, families and the State”.
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At least 15 State assets, including Sonangalp, Mota-Engil, TV Cabo and Banco de Comércio Indústria (BCI) are set to be privatised through auctions at the Bodiva market. The BCI auction is scheduled for this year.
For this reason, the former chairman of Bodiva’s executive committee continued, it is necessary to continue “to prepare this environment for the negotiation of instruments”.
The official also challenged all actors in society to create a capital market “that serves the country”, stressing that, in the strategy of the Angolan executive, “the capital market has a clear purpose”, as “it can help to make it possible for economic agents in need of financing to obtain the necessary capital to develop their activity without weighing what is public expenditure”, he argued.
In addition to the presentation of the Annual Report on the Bodiva 2020 Markets, there was also a debate titled “Market in Action”, focused on preparing national companies for market launch.
Bodiva members were also honoured at the meeting with performance awards in 2020 and presented a new trading, custody and liquidation platform.