Angola’s state-owned enterprise sector cost taxpayers the equivalent of US$352 million in 2025 through capitalisations and operational subsidies, even as aggregate net profits climbed 20% to a record 949 billion kwanzas (US$1.04 billion), according to data disclosed by the Institute for State Asset and Equity Management (IGAPE).
Angola’s Public Enterprise Sector (SEP) submitted its 2025 accounts to IGAPE this year, revealing a sector of contradictory signals: sharply rising profits on one hand, and a growing burden on the state treasury through recapitalisations and operational subsidies on the other.
According to calculations by business newspaper Expansão based on IGAPE data, the government spent 271.9 billion kwanzas on capitalisations of state-owned companies in 2025, to which a further 49 billion kwanzas in operational subsidies were added. In total, the SEP cost Angolan taxpayers approximately 320.9 billion kwanzas — equivalent to US$352 million at the year-end exchange rate — a 66% increase from the 193.6 billion kwanzas recorded in 2024. This escalation is notable given that the government launched its privatisation programme (PROPRIV) in 2019 with the declared aim of reducing state companies’ financial dependence on the general state budget.
State media outlets lead the subsidies list. IGAPE confirmed that the cost of operational subsidies rose 6% relative to 2024, totalling 49 billion kwanzas (approximately US$53.71 million). The institution said the increase stemmed primarily from the need to ensure some degree of remuneration rebalancing for certain companies in the public portfolio — notably state-owned media outlets, among them the Public Television of Angola (TPA), the National Radio of Angola (RNA), Edições Novembro (which publishes the Jornal de Angola and other titles), Angop and TV Zimbo.
The pattern is not new. In previous years, IGAPE had already identified TPA as one of the principal beneficiaries of operational subsidies, alongside other entities such as Angola Telecom, Grupo Zahara, the Benguela Railway (CFB) and the Luanda Railway (CFL) — a recurring pattern of state companies whose operations remain heavily dependent on direct government financial support to stay viable.
On the capitalisation side, the SEP saw growth of approximately 90%, with the state channelling 271.90 billion kwanzas (approximately US$298.01 million) to strengthen the capital of various enterprises. A significant portion of these funds was directed at the Angola Development Bank (BDA), to support ongoing and forthcoming credit lending programmes.
Sonangol and Unitel lead on net profit. Despite the weight of subsidies, the sector as a whole also recorded clear signs of financial strength. The aggregate net profit of state-owned enterprises grew 20% year-on-year to reach 949 billion kwanzas (approximately US$1.04 billion), according to Ednilson de Sousa, head of the Public Enterprise Monitoring Department at IGAPE.
Sonangol dominated the sector’s net profit rankings by a wide margin, posting approximately 862.4 billion kwanzas (US$945.21 million) — accounting for almost the entire aggregate profit of the SEP. Telecoms operator Unitel came a distant second with 158.4 billion kwanzas (US$173.61 million). Further down the table of top performers were diamond miner Endiama, the Port of Luanda, Prodel, Angola Telecom, state power utility ENDE, diamond trader SODIAM, UNICARGAS and the National Road Transport company (RNT).
Regarding dividends remitted to the state, the SEP recorded a growth trend of approximately 25%, rising from 53 billion kwanzas (US$58.09 million) in 2024 to 75.6 billion kwanzas (US$82.86 million) in 2025.
Even so, the sector’s overall weight in the Angolan economy has been declining. According to earlier IGAPE data, the SEP’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) fell from 18% in 2023 to 16% the following year — a trend that reflects both the ongoing privatisation process and the faster growth of other sectors of the non-state economy.
A picture still marked by qualified audit opinions. In recent years, IGAPE has approved the accounts of the majority of state-owned companies with reservations. In previous reporting periods, of the approximately 50 companies legally required to submit accounts by virtue of being wholly state-owned, only a small number — including the Bank of Commerce and Industry (BCI), the Angola Debt and Securities Exchange (BODIVA), the Benguela Railway and the Luanda Railway — received unconditional approval.
The overwhelming majority of state companies continued to receive qualified opinions, while a small group had their accounts outright rejected — a signal that, despite the overall improvement in the sector’s financial results, structural weaknesses in governance and accounting transparency persist across a number of Angolan state-owned enterprises.
Source: Mercado / Original article: https://mercado.co.ao/empresas-publicas-custaram-352-milhoes-de-dolares-ao-estado-em-2025-mas-lucro-agregado-do-sector-tambem-bate-recorde/
