President Daniel Chapo announced on Wednesday, 21 October, that negotiations are under way to list on the Mozambique Stock Exchange (BVM) the 35.67% stake held by Portuguese bank BPI in Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI). The head of state said the transaction should facilitate entry by domestic investors — including Mozambican women — into the capital of the institution.

The announcement was made in Maputo during the opening of the National Dialogue of the 2nd Women’s Economic Forum, where Chapo called for greater female participation in company ownership and economic decision-making.

“At this moment, there is a shareholder of BCI who is leaving. We are in talks so that these shares are listed on the stock exchange and Mozambican women can buy shares, and tomorrow each of the Mozambican women present here can say that I am also an owner of BCI,” he said, as quoted by Lusa.

The remarks come a week after the President put forward a proposal for the acquisition of BPI’s stake by Mozambican investors. On 14 October, during celebrations marking the 28th anniversary of the BVM, Chapo indicated that the model under consideration envisaged making 11% of BCI’s capital available to the public and 25% to national institutional and corporate investors.

The transaction remains under negotiation and depends on the definition of sale conditions and legally required approvals. No share price, timetable, or investor access conditions have yet been announced.

During the forum, Chapo argued that women’s participation in the economy must extend to large investments, public-private partnerships, business concessions, and the capital markets.

“When we speak of large investments, public-private partnerships, large-scale projects, business concessions, and the capital markets, we are also speaking of enormous opportunities for Mozambican women — not only as suppliers of goods and services, but also as entrepreneurs, investors, shareholders, and participants in economic decisions,” he said.

Daniel Chapo called on the Mozambique Stock Exchange, financial institutions, and business organisations to strengthen financial education programmes.

In that context, he urged the BVM, financial institutions, and business organisations to promote financial literacy and develop mechanisms that bring women closer to investment opportunities.

BCI has a share capital of ten billion meticais, reported by Lusa as equivalent to approximately 138 million euros. The shareholding structure is led by Caixa Participações, of the Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) group, with 51%, followed by BPI with 35.67%, and CGD directly with 10.51%.

The bank also holds 2.78% in treasury shares, while the remaining 0.04% belongs to other shareholders, including employees. A potential sale of BPI’s stake, with the other positions remaining unchanged, would therefore preserve majority control by the CGD group.

According to BCI’s 2025 annual report and accounts, the bank served approximately 2.5 million customers and maintained its leadership of the national banking system. Net profit, however, fell 40.3% to around 3,604 million meticais, equivalent to 48.6 million euros at the exchange rate published by Lusa.

The institution attributed the decline primarily to increased impairments on sovereign debt exposure amid a deterioration in sovereign risk, as well as extraordinary costs associated with the reimbursement of fees.