The African exchanges are keeping busy, and a dynamic African firm is also boosting the mood on the London Stock Exchange

Standard Bank Angola due to list 30 September after IPO

The share sale of 10% of the shares in Standard Bank de Angola concluded successfully on 25 September. According to a news report, demand far exceeded the number of shares on offer. All seems to be on track for the bank to list on the Angola’s securities exchange, Bolsa de Dívida e Valores de Angola (BODIVA), on 30 September. 

The Government of Angola launched the sale of a total 34% of the shares of on 11 September in an IPO. The sale is 10% of the total shares to the public, and 24% to Standard Bank in South Africa, which currently owns 51% of the shares and has the right to buy another 24% of shares. If all the shares were subscribed, it could raise AOA 196bn ($213m) to 238bn ($259m) for the Government.

The Comissão do Mercado de Capitais (Capital Markets Commission) approved the public sale. The offer price range for 4.76m shares on offer is AOA 41,220 ($45) to AOA 50,000 per share. The official schedule for finalizing the offer is 28 September for a special session at BODIVA for final determination of the results and allocation of shares. Settlement of the allocated operations is due on 29 September.

This is a disposal of shares that the Government had seized from former insurance tycoon Carlos Sao Vicente.

Carla Nogueira, executive board member at the Institute for the Management of State Assets and Holdings (IGAPE) said it is another decisive moment for the capital market and the privatization programme (PROPRIV). She told a roadshow ceremony for the IPO that the six previous privatizations attracted a total of 25,000 investors who offered AOA 1.6 trillion, some 2.7 times the expected market capitalization of the offered companies.

Airtel Money bringing IPO to London

Airtel Money has announced its plans to list via initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange that could raise at least $800 million. It is a strategic boost to the London market, where regulators and policymakers have introduced reforms to make listings more attractive but the LSE had been struggling to gain momentum.

Airtel Mobile Commerce MV, which has Airtel Money operations in 13 countries, has filed paperwork for the IPO on 23 September and the prospectus is expected in early October and the pricing to come in mid-October after a book build. The company was reported to be aiming for a valuation of $8 billion to $9bn. See the ACMN story.

The choice of London is partly a follow on from the successful listing of parent company Airtel Africa, which listed in June 2019 and raised £593m ($750m) with an IPO (see ACMN article here), and the shares have nearly quadrupled in price since then. According to the FT, CEO Ian Ferrao said London investors had a “good understanding” of emerging markets and deep pools of capital.

Airtel Africa, itself formed in 2010 and still majority owned by India’s Bharti Airtel, owns 78% of the shares in Airtel Money. Other investors are TPG, Mastercard, the Qatar Investment Authority and Chimetech Holding who acquired minority stakes in 2021, paying a total of $550m. The IPO is a secondary share sale, meaning that existing shareholders are selling shares and it is likely that this could be a partial exit for some. The International Finance Corporation has been investing strongly in telecommunications in Africa and has agreed to buy $90m of shares at the final offer price.

Bridge Bank debuts on BRVM

The shares of Bridge Bank Group Côte d’Ivoire listed for trading (ticker BBGC) on the West African regional Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières SA (BRVM) on 24 September 2026 under the symbol BBGC. The shares listed at the IPO reference price of XOF 6,750 offer and closed price Friday 25 September at XOF 7,795, up more than 15% in two sessions.

The initial public offering (IPO) in July had been a runaway success and was oversubscribed 142% in less than 24 hours. It raised XOF 67.5 billion ($117m) and closed after a day, well ahead of schedule, as we noted in ACMN’s July story. It  drew XOF 95.8 billion in demand from more than 17,000 investors.

The shares (nominal value XOF 400 each) were sold by Bridge Group West Africa, the financial holding company of Senegalese businessman Yérim Sow’s Teyliom Group, which owned 77% before the offer. Deal arranger and lead manager was group subsidiary Bridge Sécurities. The capital raise will drive expansion plans, seizing the opportunities offered by economic growth, reaching new markets – the group operates in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Mali, plans to enter Guinea in 2027 and applied in 2025 to the regulator to enter Burkina Faso. It is in upgrading its technology and digital services.

It is the 48th listed company and 16^th bank. It listed on the main equity board.

Dangote Refinery $1.6bn IPO

The $1.6 billion initial public offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE launched to a storm of interest on 14 September. The offer closes on 13 October and the shares are expected to be listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) within a few weeks.

On offer are 4.1bn shares at NGN 525 ($0.39) each, to raise up to raise NGN 2.15 trillion ($1.6bn). The prospectus can be downloaded here. The lead issuing house is Vetiva Advisory Services. The offer proceeds will be used to double production capacity at Dangote’s refinery to some 1.4 million barrels per day over the coming five years.

Investor excitement was so intense that some apps for buying shares on the Nigerian Exchange reported technical difficulties on Monday morning according to this report on Bloomberg, although no problems were reported with the exchange’s NGX-Invest portal. There is strong interest across African and international markets too.

Aliko Dangote has described it as “an IPO for the people” – it is shariah-compliant, the minimum application is 10 shares ($3.90), and it may pay dividends in US dollars. Speaking at a ceremony on Monday, Dangote said that he is considering secondary listings on other African exchanges and may list in the US within three or four years.

New frontier bond index to attract global investors

Global bank JP Morgan is to launch a new local currency “frontier” market bond index by the end of September, according to a news story on Reuters. This provides a benchmark for investors and covers nearly $330 billion of debt across 26 countries, with African countries making up ‌almost 45% ⁠of the index.

No country can have more than 8% weighting in the index. African countries with big weightings include Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria. “Frontier Asia”, made up of mainly Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Vietnam each at 8%, will make up nearly 33%. Bonds have been soaring in many of these markets, sometimes supported by gains in the value of the domestic currency against the US dollar.

The new index is to be called the “GBI-EM Edge” benchmark. The hard-currency NEXGEM frontier index was launched some 20 years ago. African governments and debt management offices, including in Angola and Zambia, have been restructuring bonds in recent months, to facilitate investors who are likely to invest in bonds featured in the new index.

DISCLOSURE: Claude.AI assisted the research.

Photo of listing ceremony for Bridge Bank Group Côte d’Ivoire on the regional BRVM securities exchange, supplied by BRVM.