Portugal eyes China: Portugal, Macao sign banking cooperation memorandum
A memorandum of understanding was signed between Caixa Bank of Investment (Caixa), a subsidiary of Caixa Geral de Depositos from Portugal, and Seng Heng Bank based in Macao here on Monday to engage in cooperation.
The inking ceremony was witnessed by visiting Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio and Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Edmund Ho Hau Wah.
Stanley Ho, president of the Seng Heng Bank said after the ceremony that with the agreement, the two banks will cooperate and assist each other in identifying business opportunities in China, Spain, Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries.
Ho said that the joint efforts are intended to result in an increase in banking cooperation of common interests in the fields of investment banking and gaining from accurate risk assessment due to the knowledge, experience and contacts.
Carlos Costa, administrator of Caixa said that the company has made a concrete presence in Macao through Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU), which has settled in Macao for more than 100 years.
He hoped that the banking cooperation memorandum will be an example of the Portuguese commitment to the cooperation with China as it has been underlined by President Sampaio.
Portugal Telecom sees Macao as "China foothold"
Portugal Telecom is eyeing a move into the fast-growing telecom market in China's mainland by using Macao as a foothold.
Tuesday's Macao Post said that Portugal Telecom executive chairman Miguel Horta e Costa met with heads of China's two powerful mobile service providers, China Mobile and China Unicom during his recent tour to Beijing, Hong Kong and Macao.
The post is Macao's first English-language newspaper that started publication in August. It said that Miguel Costa also got engaged with China Telecom and China Netcom, China's major fixed-line operators.
In the Asian region, Portugal Telecom has the biggest presence in Macao by holding a 28 percent stake in CTM, Macao's public telecom operator, which offers fixed, mobile and Internet services.The company also maintains a 55 percent stake in Macao's cable television provider TV Cabo Macao as well as two local satellite television firms.
As the biggest Portuguese company, Portugal Telecom has made substantial inroads into the Brazilian mobile market.
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