State-Owned Enterprises & Privatisations

Cabo Verde's State-Owned Enterprise Sector: Companies, Results and Privatisations

Cabo Verde's state business sector (Setor Público Empresarial, SPE) is small in number but large relative to the economy. 

In 2023 its assets equalled about 49.2% of GDP and its liabilities 45.5% of GDP. The Ministry of Finance counts a universe of 43 companies. Its most recent annual report analyses 33 of them: 23 are fully state-owned, 27 are public limited companies (S.A.) and 6 are public business entities (E.P.E.).

A note on data: the UASE's most recent annual report covers 2023, published in July 2025. The most recent quarterly report covers the third quarter of 2024, published in October 2025. No aggregate 2025 figures have been published yet. That lag is itself relevant for anyone assessing fiscal risk.

1. The companies, by sector

The list below groups the companies in the official reports by sector (our grouping). The state's shareholding is given where the UASE publishes it.

Transport and logistics

• ASA, Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Segurança Aérea (100%)
• TACV, Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde (90%)
• ENAPOR, national port administration (100%)
• CVFF, Cabo Verde Fast Ferry (96%)
• CABNAVE, the shipyard (100%)
• TICV, inter-island transport (inactive)

Energy, water and sanitation

• ELECTRA, electricity and water (78%)
• EPEC (generation), EDEC (distribution) and ONSEC (national grid operator), created in June 2024 from the split of Electra
• AdS, Águas de Santiago (49%)
• AdR, Água de Rega (100%)
• AEB, Água e Energia da Boavista (100%)
• APN, Águas de Porto Novo (10%)
• Cabeólica, wind power (2%)

Engineering, construction and infrastructure

• IFH, Imobiliária, Fundiária e Habitat (100%)
• ICV, Infraestruturas de Cabo Verde (100%)
• ECV, Estradas de Cabo Verde (100%)
• LEC, civil engineering laboratory (100%)
• SDTIBM, the tourism development company for Boa Vista and Maio (51%)
• SONERF (inactive)

Pharmaceuticals

• EMPROFAC, national pharmaceutical supplier (100%)

Financial

• BVC, Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde (100%)
• SISP, the interbank payment system (10%)
• NEWCO, the credit resolution company (100%)

Technology, media and telecommunications

• CVT, Cabo Verde Telecom (3% directly held by the state; ASA and INPS also hold stakes, which are on the sale agenda)
• NOSi, the government IT agency (100%)
• RTC, public radio and television (100%)
• CVB, Cabo Verde Broadcast (100%)
• INFORPRESS, the news agency (100%)
• TechPark (100%)

Services and other

• CCV, Correios de Cabo Verde (100%)
• INCV, the national printing house (100%)
• FIC, Feira Internacional de Cabo Verde (100%)
• EHTCV, hotel and tourism school (100%)
• EMAR, maritime school (100%)
• CERMI, renewable energy centre (100%)
• SCS, Sociedade Caboverdiana de Sabões (69%)

Where the reports are published: The sector is supervised by the Ministry of Finance through the UASE, created under Law no. 58/IX/2019. Companies must report quarterly and annually under Ministerial Order no. 48/2021. Individual company accounts and the aggregate reports are published on the Ministry of Finance website (mf.gov.cv). In 2023 the ministry also launched SOE Manager, a digital monitoring platform.

2. Financial performance of the SOE sector

The sector's recent history is a turnaround that stalled. After years of heavy losses it returned to profit in 2023, then slipped back into the red in 2024.

2.1 Net results: who makes money and who loses it

The aggregate net result improved from a loss of CVE 4.232 billion in 2021 to a loss of CVE 1.149 billion in 2022, and then to a profit of CVE 277.07 million in 2023 (about €2.5 million).

2023: 17 companies made a profit, together CVE 3,965 million. ASA, CVT, SISP, ENAPOR, EMPROFAC, IFH and Cabeólica accounted for 92% of it. On the other side, 15 companies made losses totalling CVE 3,688 million, and TACV, AdS, AEB, Electra and SDTIBM accounted for 91.8% of those. An important caveat: the 2023 figures include unaudited accounts for TACV, which weighs heavily in the total.

Third quarter of 2024: the sector fell back to a net loss of CVE 193.8 million. Nineteen companies lost money, with losses concentrated in Cabeólica, TACV, CVFF, Electra, NOSi, SDTIBM and EPEC. The 17 profitable companies were led by ASA, CVT, SISP, ENAPOR, IFH and EDEC.

Selected individual results, Q3 2024 (in CVE million):

Company Net result Comment ASA +579.3 +20.1% year on year, the sector's anchor IFH +118.3 +71.2% ENAPOR +73.6 down 39.8% EMPROFAC +39.9 down 13.0% ONSEC −15.9 first months of operation ELECTRA −234.1 now limited to water after the split

The biggest structural loss-maker: TACV. In 2023, TACV alone accounted for 49% of the negative impact on the sector's equity. In Q3 2024 its equity was still negative by CVE 13.27 billion.

2.2 Efficiency: return on equity and assets

Average efficiency is low. In 2023, return on equity (ROE) rose to 2.81% from −10.3% a year earlier, and return on assets (ROA) to 0.21%. The EBITDA margin reached 20.56% and the net margin 0.71%. By Q3 2024, ROE had fallen back to −0.72% and ROA to −0.14%.

At company level, the UASE publishes ratios for the largest companies but no sector-wide ranking. In Q3 2024, ASA posted an ROA of 2.8% and an ROE of 4.0%. EMPROFAC had an ROE of 2.7% and a debt ratio of 48.8%, with no state guarantees. ENAPOR had an ROE of 2.4%. Electra's ROE was −5.2%, but its risk rating improved from very high to moderate after the restructuring.

2.3 Cash generation (EBITDA)

Aggregate EBITDA reached CVE 7,998 million in 2023, up 9.5%. Of this:

• 24 companies had positive EBITDA totalling CVE 9,689 million, 90.4% of it from ASA, Cabeólica, CVT, Electra, ENAPOR, IFH and SISP.
• 9 companies had negative EBITDA totalling −CVE 1,691 million, 95.7% of it from TACV, AdS and SDTIBM.

In Q3 2024, EBITDA fell 27.6% to CVE 1,668 million. Fifteen companies had negative EBITDA, and TACV, Electra and NOSi accounted for about 89.5% of the total negative amount.

2.4 Money flows between the state and its companies

From the companies to the state (2023):

• CVE 795.8 million in dividends, relating to 2021 results, a sharp increase on the previous year
• CVE 1,694 million in taxes, up 15.7%

From the state to the companies (2023):

• CVE 2,200 million in capital injections
• CVE 110 million in operating subsidies, mainly to Inforpress (60 million) and RTC (50 million) for public service contracts

State guarantees: In 2023 the state granted new loan guarantees of about CVE 4,095 million. The largest were to ASA (CVE 1,252 million), TACV (including a guarantee to Boeing) and Electra. The total stock of guarantees reached CVE 23,478 million, or 8.9% of GDP. By Q3 2024 it stood at CVE 22,306 million (8.0% of GDP). The largest exposures were TACV (CVE 5,835 million), Electra (5,831 million) and NEWCO (3,204 million).

On-lent loans: In 2023 the state had also on-lent CVE 24,071 million to Electra, IFH and ENAPOR. That stock fell sharply in 2024 after CVE 14,899 million of Electra's loans were converted into supplementary capital.

2.5 Risk profile

The UASE rates each company with the IMF's SOE Health Check Tool:

• 2023: of 33 companies, 12.1% were low risk, 33.3% moderate, 33.3% high and 21.2% very high risk.
• Q3 2024: 42.9% were high risk. The five very-high-risk companies were AdS, AEB, Cabeólica, Cabnave and CVFF.

A related point for bond investors: in 2025, state-owned construction, electricity and water, pharmaceutical and air transport companies raised money through bonds on the Cabo Verde Stock Exchange. The same year, four issuers under financial stress had credit events.

3. The privatisation agenda 2022–2026: status in September 2026

In November 2022 the government published an agenda for privatisation, partial sale, concession or public-private partnership of nine companies between 2022 and 2026: AEB, Cabnave, CECV, CV Handling, CV Telecom, Electra, Emprofac, Enapor and TACV.

Completed:

• Airports. The public airport service concession was transferred to VINCI Airports on 24 July 2023. ASA now focuses on air navigation services.
• Caixa Económica (CECV). The state sold its 27.44% stake through the stock exchange in 2024. INPS remains a major shareholder.
• CV Handling. After an international tender with bids from Swissport, Menzies and Çelebi, the government selected Swissport in March 2026 to acquire 51% of the company. The sale contract between ASA and Swissport Holding Spain was signed in April 2026.

Restructured, but not yet privatised:

• Electra. It was split in 2024 into EPEC (generation), EDEC (distribution) and ONSEC (grid operation and central purchasing), with Electra itself keeping water. The stated plan was to privatise EDEC and EPEC.

Still pending:

• ENAPOR port subconcession
• Privatisation of EMPROFAC/Inpharma
• Sale of the ASA and INPS stakes in CV Telecom
• Restructuring of CABNAVE
• Stabilisation and privatisation of TACV

By April 2026, a local newspaper counted CV Handling as the only one of the nine processes actually completed, and it described TACV as a continuing drain on public resources through state guarantees.

Governance reform: The outgoing government had proposed centralising the state's shareholdings in a holding company, PARPÚBLICA SGPS, and limiting auditor terms to reduce conflicts of interest.

The new political context: PAICV won the 17 May 2026 elections with an absolute majority. Francisco Carvalho's government took office on 19 June 2026, with the Prime Minister also holding the Finance portfolio. At the time of writing, we have not seen an updated privatisation agenda from the new government.

Summary

Cabo Verde's state business sector is a small group of companies with a large balance sheet, equal to half of GDP. It shows a clear divide:

• Profitable anchors. ASA (air navigation), CV Telecom, SISP, ENAPOR, EMPROFAC and IFH generate almost all the profits.
• Loss centres. TACV, the water and energy companies (AdS, AEB, Cabeólica) and SDTIBM absorb capital injections and state guarantees.
• A fragile turnaround. The 2023 return to profit did not hold in 2024, and state guarantees remain at around 8–9% of GDP.

Of the privatisation agenda, the airport concession, Caixa Económica and CV Handling have been completed. The decisions on TACV, the new electricity companies, the ports and the pharmaceutical supplier now fall to a new government, whose own programme has yet to be translated into a privatisation list.

For detailed analysis of Cabo Verde's economy and investment environment, visit www.CaboVerdeExpert.com.

Disclaimer: The data and analysis on this page are based on official reports of the UASE (Ministry of Finance of Cabo Verde), in particular the 2023 Annual Performance Report and the Q3 2024 Quarterly Report, together with public announcements and press reports. This page is for information only. It is not financial, legal or investment advice. Figures may be revised by the official bodies, and some company accounts included in the aggregates were unaudited at the time of publication. Always consult the primary sources at mf.gov.cv before making any decision.