📷 Photo: Photographer for Seychelles News Agency via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
The Seychelles government has set out the terms for the sale of its 60 percent stake in the Seychelles Commercial Bank, the country’s largest domestic retail bank, confirming that a formal call for proposals will be issued to identify a new strategic partner for the institution.
The Minister for Finance, Economic Planning, Trade and Investment, Pierre Laporte, told the National Assembly on Tuesday 28 July 2026 that Cabinet took the decision on 10 June 2026 with conditions to safeguard jobs, including a requirement that any redundancy packages proposed by a new partner be acceptable to the government. He was responding to questions from elected members, including Hon. Georges, who criticised the government for not explaining the decision openly.
Minister Laporte said the decision to sell the government’s 60 percent stake, with stakeholders also free to submit proposals to purchase the wider 90 percent holding, was driven by the need to bring in an investor capable of strengthening the bank’s operations and addressing persistent challenges in its development. The government representatives on the SCB board were informed at the same time as other board members and management on 23 July 2026.
The Minister clarified that existing minority shareholders were not directly offered the shares, as the bank’s Articles of Association do not require such an offer. Nonetheless, stakeholders remain free to submit proposals. Potential investors will need to submit a strategic plan, employee development plan, business plan, and proposals to restore correspondent banking relationships. An independent valuation will determine the share value, and the Central Bank of Seychelles must also approve the sale under the Financial Institutions Act. The Seychelles Commercial Bank’s current shareholder structure, with the Government of Seychelles holding 60 percent and account holders holding the remaining 40 percent, was last restructured in 2016 when the second phase of the bank’s privatisation concluded, as documented in the bank’s corporate profile and investor relations summary.
The wider context was set out in a press conference held by Minister Laporte at the SCB conference room in Victoria on 23 July 2026, alongside Patrick Payet, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance and concurrently chairman of the SCB board, and Annie Vidot, Chief Executive of the Seychelles Commercial Bank. The full Cabinet Business summary of 23 July 2026 confirms the wider policy environment in which the sale is taking place, including Cabinet approval of the Fair Trading Commission Strategic Plan and amendments to the Foreign Exchange Act, 2009 to modernise the framework for foreign currency transactions.
Mr Payet said the sale is aimed at reorganising public institutions and addressing persistent challenges in the bank’s development, with the government believing that bringing in an investor capable of providing these services will elevate the bank’s operations. The remaining 40 percent of SCB shares, held by account holders, both individuals and organisations, will not be affected.
The sale process is expected to begin in the coming weeks, with the formal call for proposals to be issued by the Ministry of Finance. The Central Bank of Seychelles, as the regulator under the Financial Institutions Act, will have the final approval on the transaction once a preferred partner is identified. The Seychelles Commercial Bank’s most recent Annual Report 2023, filed with the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission, shows the bank reporting total assets and a network that includes correspondent banking relationships with the Central Bank of Seychelles, Bank of Baroda Seychelles, Absa Bank Seychelles, Afreximbank in Egypt, Absa Bank South Africa, and ICBC Asia. The current leadership team, including Annie Vidot as Managing Director and the board composition under Patrick Payet, is recorded in the official list of designated public information officers published by the Department of Information, Communications and Technology in April 2026.
Sources cited: State House Seychelles, Cabinet Business – Thursday 23rd July 2026 (https://www.statehouse.gov.sc/news/7151/cabinet-business-thursday-23rd-july-2026); Seychelles Commercial Bank, Corporate Profile (Internet Archive snapshot, 6 June 2026) (https://web.archive.org/web/20260606203457/https://www.scb.sc/corporate-profile); Seychelles Commercial Bank, Investor Relations (Internet Archive snapshot, 2026) (https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://www.scb.sc/investor-relations); Seychelles Commercial Bank, Annual Report 2023, Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission (https://www.pemc.sc/wp-content/uploads/dlmuploads/2026/03/SCB-Annual-Report-2023.pdf); Department of Information Communications and Technology (Seychelles), List of Designated Public Information Officers, April 2026 (https://www.infocom.sc/wp-content/uploads/List-of-Designated-Public-Information-Officers-202624.04.2026.pdf).
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