According to Angola’s Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Diamantino Azevedo, the country is still in negotiations about a possible investment in De Beers and wants a share big enough to influence the company's direction.
Fellow Southern African nation Botswana has maintained a 15% interest in De Beers for decades as a function of its foundational association with the enterprise.
The acquisition of a 20% to 30% stake by Angola would primarily benefit the Southern African country by securing official board representation and enabling participation in executive deliberations concerning De Beers' strategy for producer-nation relations.
This point was highlighted by Azevedo on Wednesday at the 'Doing Business Angola' conference in Lisbon, Portugal, where he stated that Angola is looking for an ownership that would enable it "to sit at the table," assist in shaping the company's strategy, and take part in executive-level conversations, as seen on Bloomberg.
Consequently, a combined Angolan and Botswanan holding within the range of 35% to 45% would establish a formidable African producer-nation bloc capable of guiding strategic determinations, notwithstanding the absence of legal majority control.
