Lisbon, Portugal, 04 April – Portuguese banks that operate in Angola together made total profit in that West African market of 138 million euros in 2005, according to a report in Portuguese daily newspaper Público.

Half of the total, the paper said, was achieved by Banco Fomento Angola, owned by Portuguese bank BPI, representing 28 percent of the group’s overall profit, for which Angola is the largest foreign market.

Last year BFA was market leader in terms of loans in the country, overtaking Banco de Poupança e Crédito, which kept its position as largest bank for deposits.

Banco Espírito Santo, which in Angola is mainly a wholesale bank supporting big business, achieved 12 percent of its total profit from Angolan operations, around 34 million euros.

The largest slice of the remaining banking profit in Angola went to Banco Totta, which recently set up a partnership with Portuguese state group Caixa Geral de Depósitos, to invest up to 100 million euros in expanding a joint network in the country.

The presidents of the five largest Portuguese banks, which also include Millennium BCP, are in Angola this week as part of the business delegation accompanying Prime Minister José Sócrates on an official visit to the country.

During the visit an official expansion plan for Banco Millennium Angola will be launched, which a recently set up banking institution in Angola, owned by BCP.

According to a report in Portuguese weekly Expresso, Geocapital, a company controlled by Macau businessman Stanley Ho, also plans to move into the Angolan banking sector by setting up an investment bank. (macauhub)