Angolan bank Banco de Negócios Internacional (BNI) plans to launch its internationalisation process by opening up an representative office in Lisbon, Portugal, the chairman and main shareholder of the bank, Mário Palhares said in Luanda Thursday.

On inaugurating the bank’s headquarters in Luanda, the chairman of BNI said that one of the reasons for opening the new headquarters was growth in the number of staff, which has increased 24.8 percent to 600 people.

The bank currently has a retail network of 63 branches, six of which are called BNI Prime, and focused on the business segment.

BNI opened for business in November, 2006 and has share capital in kwanzas of the equivalent of US$20 million, shared by several shareholders, the main ones being Mário Palhares, with 28.28 percent, and João Baptista de Matos with 11.63 percent. (macauhub)