 |
Published by Ken Pottinger, Consulting on
Portugal since 1977.
Contact: editor@datafileportugal.com
All rights in any form
reserved © 1991 and subsequent, Ken Pottinger. |
 |
| |
|
|
| |
Weekly news: 1st week of February,
2012 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| China to open
a bank in Portugal |
| |
One of the
world’s largest financial institutions
ICBC-Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Ltd., is seeking a Bank of Portugal (BoP) banking
license to establish a subsidiary in Portugal
for which it has already named a management team.
The financial institution, the first Chinese
bank ever to open directly in Lisbon, hopes to
begin operations early in H2 2012. The
timing will depend on its license application.
Between 1999 and 2012, 69 financial institutions
ceased trading in Portugal, considerably more
than the eurozone average. Through a subsidiary
in Macau – a former Portuguese-ruled Chinese enclave -- ICBC has
been trading in Portugal for several years, via a representative office. By applying
to open a branch office the bank intends to deepen and extend trade and investment
financing as China builds a growing stake in Portugal and elsewhere in
Europe. The ICBC arrival in Portugal follows its earlier acquisition of
Seng Heng Bank from Stanley Ho, the Macau casino millionaire and owner of the
Estoril Sol casino in Cascais. This takeover meant ICBC inherited Heng Seng’s
representative office license in Portugal (approved in 2006). In 2009, the Chinese
bank boosted ties to Portugal by commercial links with BES- Banco Espirito Santo
and Millennium BCP. More recently, when China’s Three Gorges acquired a
21.35% stake in EDP the power utility, ICBC’s increased role in the Portuguese
financial system was a negotiated offset in the sale. Additionally ICBC has been
widely touted as a potential investor in the troubled Millennium BCP bank. Negotiations
for Chinese and Brazilian shareholdings in BCP are said to be well advanced. |
|
|
| Accor adds
investment in Portugal |
| |
Even though
a senior Accor director has warned of “a
very difficult year ahead for tourism, especially
on the domestic front”, the French hotel
chain is preparing to open three units by year end. In Gaia, Oporto and Lisbon,
the group plans two new Ibis units while in Braga, it will open a Mercure-branded
hotel in partnership with franchisee Maxitur Braga. The group currently
operates 28 hotels under four different brands Sofitel (3), Novotel(4) and Mercure
(20) and says it will continue to make fresh investment in Portugal. The latest
planned openings reflect a renewal of interest by the French group in investing
in Portugal, after two years of relative inactivity with just one new hotel opened.
The Braga project involves refurbishment of the existing 4–star, 128-room,
city-centre, Hotel Turismo de Braga rebranding it as Mercure at a cost of six
million euros. In terms of overall group strategy, this will be the fifth Mercure
opened in the country. A spokesman said: "It means the Mercure network is
now present in each of Portugal’s major cities". The new hotel is
scheduled to open in April. Earlier Accor announced it would open a 95-room budget
Ibis in Vila Nova de Gaia, together with a 114-room Ibis at the Lisbon Expo area
by year end. |
|
|
| 10 million
euros on solar energy |
| |
Donauer Solar Systems, a German green energy firm, is to begin construction in
March of a four Mw photovoltaic power generation plant at Pinhal Novo south of
Lisbon. It says the objective is to showcase its Portuguese subsidiary as a suitable
partner for large and medium sized solar projects. Once energy production at
Pinhal Novo comes on stream in September it will provide power for 2,400 homes
at a total investment of some 10 million euros. The new photovoltaic plant will
cover a 8ha site on which it will install 18 000 polycrystalline panels, each
with an output capacity of 240 watts. The panels will be equipped with a 12 central
inverters to transform solar energy into continuous electrical energy. Ana Cristina
Arnedo, Donauer’s local director , said: "High quality photovoltaic
developments are a safe investment, because the state guarantees a Portuguese
feed-in tariff for 20 years, adjusted for inflation". The planned 1500 kWh/kWp
output per year at a feed tariff 0.257 euros per kWh, makes the plant "highly
profitable with a 19.2% yield on capital", she said. Donauer currently has
a solar energy market share of 25%, particularly from micro-generation projects
of up to 5 kW. Donauer's Portuguese subsidiary is, after its German parent, one
of the most important operators in the group which has subsidiaries in France,
Italy, Belgium, UK, Czech Republic and Brazil. Set up in 1995, the family-managed
firm is a leader in solar energy in Europe and employs over 250 highly qualified
staff , exporting to 40 countries. Electricity from renewable sources accounted
for 46.8% of total electricity consumption in mainland Portugal in 2011, according
to the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN). |
|
|
|
| Business Briefs: |
| Portucel – a
listed pulp and paper giant, reports earnings fell
6.8%, for a net profit of 196.3 million euros in
2011. Sales rose 7.4% to 1.4879 billion euros but
earnings failed to resist rising staff and raw
material costs. In 2010, Portucel had earnings of
210.6 million euros. Efforts to expand into Latin
America, namely Brazil and Uruguay, were thwarted
in the former case by bureaucracy and in the latter
by a lack of infrastructure. These barriers along
with macroeconomic factors impacting on overall
pulp and paper sector profitability led the company
to suspend planned expansion to Brazil and Uruguay
along with a planned 300 million euro expansion
of its Cacia, Aveiro plant. |
| |
| If 2011 was a
bad year for banking in general for Millennium
BCP, once Portugal’s best performing private
bank, the year just ended was “absolutely
appalling”. According to analysts the bank
is expected to report losses of 604 million euros,
or two thirds of its market cap. In addition there
will be impairment losses on loans of 1,366 million
euros, 91.6% higher than in 2010. Overall the Portuguese
banking sector in 2011 has for first time since
the introduction of the euro reported significant
overall losses. |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Executive summary of Portuguese business news by e-mail,
comprehensive website database of Portuguese business,
economic and political news, on subscription. Research
and company profiles on request.
Enquiries: editor@datafileportugal.com.
Tel: +44+(0)2071936211 |
|
 |
|
 |
|