The bank is interested in buying shares it doesn’t already own in its Angolan unit after an investor in the business was detained and his shares seized by authorities. Rule barring foreign companies from full ownership of businesses in Angola was in place when Africa’s largest lender opened its unit in the southern nation in 2010, but has since been scrapped for some industries. Angola is among the top six contributors to Standard Bank’s earnings from operations on the continent outside of South Africa. A presence in 20 sub-Saharan African countries has shielded the lender from some of the pain faced in its home market, where a moribund economy and restrictions to contain the Covid-19 pandemic bankrupted businesses and pushed up unemployment.
Standard Bank will continue to look for more business in sub-Saharan Africa, where the International Monetary Fund is forecasting economic growth of 3.2% this year. This includes a bigger push into Ethiopia, where the government is opening up some sectors to private investors, and taking advantage of opportunities in Mozambique’s gas sector. The lender has helped African sovereigns and corporates raise $2 billion in capital from the UK over the past two years and is confident it can bring even more governments and companies to market. While the coronavirus has delayed plans to further open intra-African trade, a continent-wide agreement will boost momentum. The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, which now has 54 members, will also benefit as trade finance moves to digital platforms.