Angola – Unitel Sale in Legal Limbo

The public sale of shares in Unitel, Angola’s largest telecommunications company, and the operator’s admission to trading on the country’s stock exchange mark an important stage in a privatisation programme that has so far offered investors few marquee assets. Unitel is a rare exception. On that basis alone, the transaction deserves support.

Yet the deal comes with a legal complication that should not be relegated to the small print. Half of Unitel was transferred to the state by presidential…