Image credit: Endiama
Finance minister Daves de Sousa was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the country would likely conduct initial public offerings to raise cash to boost the struggling economy.
The southern African country has already sold 30 companies from the 195 targeted for disposal.
"We are targeting the end of 2021, beginning of 2022 to start the process of the privatization of the big ones, such as Sonangol and Endiama," De Sousa told a Bloomberg Invest Africa virtual conference.
She said the partial disposal depends on how quick they can reorganize the companies and attract high-quality investors.
Endiama chairperson Jose Manuel Ganga Junior said last February that the company was considering selling 30% of its shares in an initial public offering.
He said at the time that the sale was part of Luanda's move to improve transparency in the diamond sector and boost production.
"We are preparing Endiama for a public listing and we are currently assessing the company's value," he said then.
"The state will continue to have control the company even after the listing."
Angola first announced its plans to privatise Endiama and partially float its capital on the stock exchange, in July 2019.
Endiama has a 41% interest in Catoca and has stakes in nine secondary alluvial projects, which included Chitolotolo, Chimbongo, Cambange, Cuango and Lulo.
Endiama, together with Russia's Alrosa, is prospecting for diamonds at the Luaxe kimberlite project.
The deposit was discovered in 2013 and it has reserves of about 350 million carats with a lifespan of 30 years.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
