Macau-based Banco National Ultramarino (BNU) officially inaugurated its Hengqin branch, becoming Macau’s first local incorporated bank to open a branch in the mainland.
A BNU statement quoted the bank’s CEO Pedro Cardoso as saying during the inauguration ceremony that “the Hengqin branch is a milestone in expanding our financial services to Guangdong province. We are committed to providing high-quality financial services such as traditional deposit and loan services, foreign exchange settlement and trade financing.”
Cardoso also said that “as the first international financial group to enter the Hengqin Free Trade Area, we are very confident about the future of Hengqin within the overall development of the Pearl River Delta Region.”
According to the statement, BNU is the first bank entering the mainland “with renminbi business permitted immediately,” thanks to the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA).
The statement also pointed out that BNU is the first international banking group to open a branch in the Hengqin Free
Trade Area.
BNU is fully owned by Portugal’s state-owned Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD).
“BNU will, through the extensive financial network of CGD in the Portuguese-speaking countries, assist Macau enterprises in expanding their businesses in mainland China, promote closer co-operation between Macau and Guangdong, and support the consolidation of Macau as a service platform for the Portuguese-speaking countries’ economic and trade co-operation”.
BNU, which together with the local branch of Bank of China (BOC) co-issues the local currency on behalf of the Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM), set up businessin Macau 115 years ago.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac and other officials and businesspeople from Macau and the mainland attended the opening
ceremony.
Hengqin is a special economic district, officially known as Hengqin New Area, in Zhuhai.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
