WINDHOEK – Yesterday’s confirmation of Angolan bank Banco BIC’s receipt of a provisional banking licence from Bank of Namibia to establish operations in Namibia, through Bank BIC Namibia Limited, has edged the largest Angolan bank a step closer to its ambitious quest for a dominant presence in Southern Africa, especially within English-speaking countries of the 15-member SADC regional bloc, as announced by Banco BIC chief executive officer Fernando Teles in April this year in Luanda, Angola.
Bank of Namibia said it has “granted provisional authorization to Bank BIC Namibia Limited, with its origin in Angola, to conduct business as a banking institution in Namibia. The above provisional authorization is effective from 3 October 2014 for a period of six months.”
Teles said in April they “are looking at all the countries around us. Sooner or later the Southern African Development Community will be even more interconnected and we have to be ready for the business that will occur in the economic zone.
“Our shareholders have backed us to grow and have the necessary funds to invest when needed,” Teles said then.
The bank opened a branch in Johannesburg, South Africa, in February this year. It is also planning to open an office in China, which is Angola’s main oil buyer.
The confirmation of Banco BIC Angola branching into Namibia comes seven days after Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, increased her stake in the bank to 42.5 percent, by acquiring the shares of previous individual major stockholder, Portuguese cork tycoon billionaire businessman Americo Amorim, who owned 25 percent of the bank.
Dos Santos who is the daughter of Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos, is now the dominant shareholder in the bank as well as being a stockholder in the bank’s Portugal offshoot, BIC Portugal.
According to FORBES’ estimates, the deal made Dos Santos worth approximately $3.5 billion (about N$39 billion) and the biggest stakeholder in Angola and Portugal’s financial systems.
BIC is Angola’s biggest private bank by branches – it has in excess of over 222 branches in Angola. Its strategy is based on building a wide presence across the country to benefit when investment in non-oil sectors like farming starts to deliver growth in regions outside the capital, Luanda.
However, the provisional banking licence provided by Bank of Namibia only allows Bank BIC Namibia the opportunity to conduct and complete feasibility studies in order to validate its business plan for entry into the Namibian market.
“The public is further notified that during the six-month provisional licence period, Bank BIC Namibia Limited is not allowed to engage in banking activities with any person in Namibia, especially soliciting deposits from members of the public until such time that the Bank of Namibia issues a certificate of authorisation,” said the Bank of Namibia.
– Additional reporting by Reuters