S.Africa's central bank to IPO its stake in African Bank

(Reuters) - South Africa's central bank said on Tuesday it would do an initial public offering of its 50% interest in small lender African Bank Holdings Ltd (ABHL) after scrapping plans to sell the stake to investors.

None of the interested investors were "suitable" to buy the stake at this stage, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in a statement.

The central bank took control of the lender in 2014 following a bad loans crisis and began the process to sell its stake in early 2020.

The timing of the IPO will depend on market conditions, the SARB said. A surge in market volatility in recent weeks due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis has forced several companies to delay their market debuts.

Other investors in ABHL include big South African lenders from FirstRand to Standard Bank and a government employee pension fund.

(Reporting by Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)