Standard Bank is looking to boost its stakes in businesses in Angola and Nigeria, the bank’s CEO Sim Tshabalala said on Thursday.
“In Nigeria we are again wanting to increase our shareholding in the business. It’s a great business,” Tshabalala told Reuters in an interview.
The Angolan government is planning to sell as much as a 34 percent stake in Standard Bank de Angola SA through an initial public offering, according to a presidential decree, after seizing a 49 percent stake that was controlled by a former insurance tycoon who is serving a nine-year prison term.
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South Africa-based Standard Bank Group owns the remaining 51 percent and has the right to buy an additional 24 percent stake in the Angolan business.
“We are going through a process where we are putting our best foot forward and therefore would increase our shareholding if all goes well,” he said.
Standard Bank, with operations in 20 African countries, is hoping to be at the forefront of growth opportunities unlocked by energy transition projects in key regions on the continent, including East Africa.
