FNB purchased the entire 62 per cent holding in BDC of the former majority shareholder, Montepio Geral of Portugal, plus a further 18 per cent belonging to minor shareholders.
10 per cent of BDC/FNB-Mocambique is held by the Portuguese investment bank, Banco Efisa, which is part of the BPN (Banco Portugues de Negocios). The remaining 10 per cent is held by the Mozambican CPG group, in which the most prominent figures are former defence minister Alberto Chipande, and a leading Businessman and parliamentarian for the ruling Frelimo Party, Hermenegildo Gamito.
The hand over of the bank to FNB took place in Maputo on Tuesday, and Gamito was appointed chairperson of the board of directors of the FNB-Mocambique.
This is FNB's first move out of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) area. Apart from South Africa itself, its other branches are to be found in Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland
According to the new owners, FNB-Mocambique intends to offer a wide range of services, including leasing, insurance and financing, and will increase the number of branches across the country. In all of Mozambique, the BDC only had four branches.
FNB is the third South African group to enter the Mozambican banking system. The ABSA group purchased 80 per cent of the shares in the Austral Bank from the Mozambique state, while the Standard Bank purchased the Banco Standard Totta de Mocambique (BSTM) from the Portuguese Banco Totta e Acores.
SOURCE: AIM
