Mozambican bank Banco Nacional de Investimento (BNI) will start operating as a development bank, the chairman of the bank said at a ceremony to open its headquarters building in Maputo, cited by the Mozambican press.

“The BNI is a new banking concept, characterised by working in the investment and development bank sector at the same time, not using individuals’ deposits but rather its own funds, and will start accessing the capital market to make this possible,” said Maleiane.

The Mozambican state owns 100 percent of BNI which, when it was founded, in 2010, was focused on financing infrastructure projects in Mozambique.

When it started operating in 2011, the bank was 49.5 percent owned by the Mozambican state and Portuguese state financial group Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) owned another 49.5 percent, and the remaining 1 percent belonged to Banco Comercial de Investimento (BCI).

In December 2012 the Mozambican state took on 100 percent of BN after acquiring the stakes owned by the other shareholders. (macauhub)