Standard Bank’s Angola Ambitions Undeterred by Partner Detention

Standard Bank Group Ltd. wants to raise its stake in its Angolan unit, undeterred after an investor in the business was detained and his shares seized by authorities.

“Over the last two years we have increased our stake in our subsidiaries in Kenya and in Nigeria,” Sola David-Borha, the chief executive officer of Johannesburg-based Standard Bank’s African division, said in a video call. “If the opportunity arises in Angola as well, we will do so.”

Olusola David-Borha

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg

A rule barring foreign companies from full ownership of businesses in Angola was in place when Africa’s largest lender opened its unit in ...