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Macau’s roughly 28 squarekilometers (11 square miles)of territory contains anamazing amount of culturaldiversity. The former colony,made up of the Macau Penin-sula and the islands of Taipaand Coloane, is home to Por-tuguese churches, Chinesetemples, casinos and restau-rants representing the ex-cellent cuisines of manydifferent Asian and Euro-pean countries.

Macau has been a SpecialAdministrative Region of Chi-na since it was returned byPortugal in 1999, and the po-litical autonomy permittedunder that arrangement hasallowed the city to rapidly be-

come a regional gaming andentertainment center, and tobenefit from the accompany-ing rapid economic growth.

That economic expansionhas made the Macau SAR oneof the most prosperous re-gions in Asia, and gross do-mestic product is expected tocontinue growing at a rapidpace as the economy diversi-fies away from a model basedsolely on casinos and tourism.

The city is home to a thriv-ing financial services sector,and its open economy is wel-coming investment in otherareas, especially infrastructure,construction and trading.

Macau

Angola has been through a lotsince it gained its independencein 1975. A brutal civil war brokeout soon after the country’s firstindependence day, slowing andhalting efforts to invest in thecountry’s natural wealth andimprove living standards.

When peace was signed in2002, it signaled the start of anew era, one in which the rev-enue from Angola’s abundantoil resources could be spentto build healthcare facilities,schools, roads and other ne-cessities for raising its citizensup out of poverty and givingthem opportunities to bettertheir lives.

Now the country is start-ing its second decade of peace

and economic growth, andjust recently held electionsthat independent observersdeclared free and fair. Explo-ration for oil is expanding fromoffshore areas to promisingdeposits onshore, while closeddiamond mines are being re-opened and new mineral de-posits studied to see if theycould be productive.

Jose dos Santos was re-elected president in August,so he is once again leading thecountry while it rebuilds andcontinues its efforts to use itsmany natural advantages toprovide Angolans with moreof life’s necessities.

Angola

The island nation of CapeVerde is gearing up to trans-form itself into a tourism andlogistics powerhouse, takingadvantage of its strategic lo-cation off the west coast ofAfrica and right in the mid-dle of shipping lanes linkingEurope to South America andAfrica to North America.

The country is a stableparliamentary democracythat maintains close ties toPortugal and that country’sformer colonies through itsmembership in the Com-munity of Portuguese-Lan-guage Countries, whosemembers include four oth-er West and South Africannations.

The government of PrimeMinister Jose Maria dasNeves is currently seekinginvestment to help improvethe country’s maritime andair transport infrastructures,with the goal of offering vis-itors and shippers up-to-dateand efficient facilities.

Apart from a convenientgeographic location, CapeVerde’s 10 islands offertourists tranquil beachesthat aren’t overdeveloped,some of the world’s bestwind-surfing, spectacularnatural vistas, and an activevolcano that adventuroushikers can climb.

Cape Verde

�See page 5�See page 2 �See page 6

Thursday, September 20, 2012

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Portugal was for cen-turies a country thatpunched far aboveits weight in worldaffairs. When the

Treaty of Tordesillas wassigned in 1494, theoreticallydividing much of the worldbetween Spain and Portugal,Portugal was just beginningits era of discovery, sendingexplorers along the coasts ofAfrica to Cape Verde, Ango-la, Mozambique and then onto India and Macau.

That was the start of whatwould become a vast tradingempire sending nutmeg andother rare flavorings from theSpice Islands to Europe via trad-ing posts in Angola or CapeVerde, while Macau served asan entrepôt sending Japanesesilver to China in return for thatcountry’s silks and porcelains.

Cape Verde and Angola bothreceived their independencefrom Portugal in 1975, after thatcountry’s dictatorship was oust-ed in the so-called CarnationRevolution. The left-leaninggovernment that took over Por-tugal was eager to divest itselfof its colonial possessions, so

much so that it tried to returnMacau to China as well.

The Chinese governmentturned the offer down at thetime, and it was only after Por-tugal and China establishedformal diplomatic relations in1979 that the two countriesbegan to negotiate the returnof Macau. When the territorywas finally returned to Chi-nese sovereignty in 1999, it wasthe last European colony onthe Asian mainland.

In the years since the Car-nation Revolution, Portugaland many of its former colonieshave maintained and im-proved their ties, forming the

Community of Portuguese-Language Countries in 1996,with seven countries: Portu-gal, Angola, Cape Verde, Brazil,Guinea-Bissau, Mozambiqueand Sao Tome e Principe.

Today, while Portugal is suf-fering through a wrenching eco-nomic downturn, many of itsformer colonies are booming.Angola’s economy is growingrapidly, Macau is already theworld’s biggest gaming center,and Cape Verde is actively seek-ing investment to expand andimprove its ports and airports.

Another thing the three for-mer Portuguese colonies havein common is strong and sta-

ble diplomatic and tradingties with the U.S. American oilcompanies have been invest-ing in Angola for decades, andthe U.S. government has beena generous donor of aid tohelp Angola improve itshealth-care system, clear landmines left over from the civ-il war and increase agricul-tural productivity.

Ties between the U.S. andCape Verde, meanwhile, dateback to the earliest days ofthe English colonies in NorthAmerica. American ships fre-quently traded for salt andslaves in Cape Verdean portsin the 18th century, and Cape

Verdeans have a long histo-ry of emigrating to the U.S.,especially to Massachusettsand Rhode Island.

The U.S. is Macau’s biggesttrading partner, and recognizesthe city’s special status withinChina by exempting it fromtrade and other rules that ap-ply to the rest of the giant coun-try. Textiles from Macau enterthe U.S. under a different quo-ta system from the rest of Chi-na, for example, and Macauresidents can apply for visasthat aren’t available to mostother Chinese.

Macau’s history as a Por-tuguese colony has also made

it the perfect place for funnel-ing Chinese investment intoother former Portuguesecolonies. In July of this year,Cape Verde’s Prime Minister,Jose Maria Neves, visitedMacau and asked for help inbuilding casinos in the islands.The Chinese government alsoannounced a $21 million pack-age of aid and loans for CapeVerde during Neves’ trip.

Meanwhile, Macau-basedcompanies including Geo-capital are investing in Ango-la, buying stakes in local banksand other businesses, andstudying the possibility of in-vesting in the African coun-try’s abundant opportunities innatural resources, energy,tourism, and other sectors ofthe economy.

Angola, Cape Verde andMacau all have many invest-ment opportunities availablein a wide variety of areas.They share a history as formerPortuguese colonies, with cul-tural and linguistic legaciesthat help tie them togetherand to the other Portuguese-language countries aroundthe world.

Joined by cultural, linguistic and historical bonds, the countries of the

Community of Portuguese-Language Countries are forging into

the 21st century, united in their pursuit of economic and social development

3 PAISES LUSÓFONOS .qxd 10/9/12 18:02


Distributed by USA TODAYThursday, September 20, 201222

The city of Macau isa Special Adminis-trative Region ofthe People’s Re-public of China, lo-

cated a one-hour boat rideaway from Hong Kong insoutheastern China. The citywas a Portuguese colony fromthe mid-16th century until 1999,when it was peacefully re-turned to China, and it has heldits special status within thecountry ever since.

The city has close and warmrelations with the U.S., andAmerican companies arerapidly learning about the ben-efits of investing, or setting uplocal offices, in Macau. TheChamber of Commerce ofMacau was established in 2007to help provide U.S. business-es with unrivaled insight andbusiness connectivity in theformer colony, according toPaul Tse, the Chamber’s Chair-man in Macau.

“This has always been re-garded as a unique Chamber ofCommerce in the sense thatAmerican investment is a cru-cial part of Macau’s develop-ment – not just in terms ofcapital but also the experienceof U.S. companies and gamingin Vegas. Some of the brightestpeople are bringing this expe-rience to Macau, helping it buildan industry that has beenaround for many years,” he says.

Indeed, the city is probablybest known for being home to33 casinos, and it boasts theworld’s most lucrative gamingindustry, taking in revenue of$33.5 billion last year. That’smore than five times the mon-ey Las Vegas casinos generat-ed in 2011.

The casino industry is thedestination of much of the in-vestment in the city by U.S.companies, and there is alreadymuch cooperation betweenbusinesses in Macau and the

U.S. that is proving to be veryprofitable for both sides.

“When we look at theAmerican Chamber of Com-merce we find a chamber thatis very much integrated withthe community and withgamin, one of the most im-portant industries,” he says.

But there’s much more to thecity than just luxurious casinos.It’s also a financial center and atourist destination for travel-ers who want to enjoy its mix-ture of Portuguese and Chinesehistory, culture, architectureand cuisines.

“Macau offers a lot of enter-tainment, shopping and goodrestaurants – not just casinos,”said Dr. Manuel Joaquim dasNeves, Director of Macau’sGaming Inspection and Coor-dination Bureau. “But the gov-ernment feels that it needs moreto sustain the growth in thecoming years. So, recently wedecided that casinos will not

play as great a role and we im-plemented measures to in-crease diversification.”

Its location at the mouth ofthe Zhujiang river, across fromHong Kong, means Macau al-so benefits from the region’sbooming economy, where it isalready well on its way to be-coming the entertainment andleisure hub for the whole pan-Pearl River Delta.

Macau’s history as an inter-national trading post and for-mer Portuguese colony meansthe city also has centuries-oldties to other former Portuguesecolonies and to Portugal thatare strong and growingstronger. Macau is a base formany Chinese companies in-vesting in Portuguese-speakingcountries including Angola,Brazil and Mozambique.

“Right from the very begin-ning Macau was linked to thePortuguese speaking world,”said Manuel Carvalho, Consul

General of the Portuguesesconsulate for Macau and HongKong. “There were alwayslinks between Portugal andMozambique, Portugal andBrazil, so Macau has alwayshad this sort of role, built ona very old tradition.”

The city inherited muchmore from the Portuguese thanjust good food and lucrativetrading routes. When Portugalreturned Macau to China in1999, the Chinese governmentguaranteed the former colony’sbasic fundamental rights in-cluding free circulation of peo-ple; free circulation of capital;freedom of religion; the right forPortuguese citizens living inMacau to retain their citizen-

ship and passports and the rightto continue using the Por-tuguese language.

Given all the city has goingfor it, it’s just a matter of timebefore more of the Americansvisiting China add Macau totheir list of destinations. Its newinternational airport makes iteasy to get to, and the govern-ment is working hard to raiseawareness and attract more vis-itors, and not just gamers, either.

“I want Macau to be a goodplace to visit, especially for fam-ilies,” said the Gaming Bureau’sMr. Neves. “There are manygood things in Macau. I wouldlike to attract families to Macau.We want entertainment foreverybody.”

Macau is an international gam-ing center, and a popular des-tination for people from Asiaand around the world whowant to try their luck and skillsin the former Portuguesecolony’s many casinos. Laxi-no is a Macau-based technol-ogy company that is workingto provide casinos there and allaround the globe with top-notch gaming solutions.

The company was foundedin 2008 by two local entrepre-neurs, Laxino Chief ExecutiveOfficer Lam Iao and Chief Tech-nology Officer Chi Lei. Theirgoal then was to establish astrong commercial base inMacau before expanding to oth-er parts of Asia and the rest ofthe world.

“Our strategy is first to cap-ture this market and make surewe have the market presencehere in Macau before we reachout to international locationssuch as Europe or our major bat-tlegrounds in North Americaand Central and South Ameri-ca,” said Mr. Lam. “Our approachis to have a solid foundation herein Macau before we get involved

in any type of upcoming pro-jects elsewhere internationally.”

Laxino’s management plansto pry open new markets byoffering potential clients in-novative technology and mul-timedia entertainment that willmake them more efficient andprofitable, while providing ex-citing and engrossing gamingexperiences to casino goers

seeking the latest in gamingentertainment.

In addition to developing itsown technology, the companydistributes slot machines. Theslots business has been very suc-cessful for them, generating rev-enue for the company tocontinue its development effortsand encouraging it to reach outto other parts of the world such

as Las Vegas and Buenos Aires. Focusing strongly on quality,

the company makessure its employeeshave a deepknowledge ofgaming to ensurethe best newtechnology. Lax-ino is also look-ing to expand

into other areas of development;especially education and gov-ernment, to benefit people inthe region and help underde-veloped countries and citiesreach their full potential.

As the only gaming technol-ogy and software developer inMacau, Laxino has been a pio-neer in creating quality em-ployment in the softwaredevelopment field, thus giving

many Macanese people whostudied abroad and ac-

quired strong skillsa place to comehome to. Mr.Chi recallshow manypeople couldnot find a job in

their area of ex-pertise, “so they

had to change to systems sup-port, applications support, oreven business. They had to giveup what they learned and whatthey enjoyed. So what we aretrying to do is provide a plat-form for these kinds of people.”

And consequently, the Laxi-no platform is moving beyondgaming technology and teamingup with other companies. “Wewill be one of the partners in ajoint venture for a a cloud ser-

vice in Macau. There aresome other social

network plat-forms that we’rebuilding up,” saysMr. Li, addingthat Laxino is

prototyping ontop of various Mi-

crosoft productslike Kinect and

Surface 2.0.

Laxino, Macau’s sole gamingtechnology and software developerFounded in 2008, Laxino Technology Limited is the only company, founded and managed by Macanese people and staffed by a world-class team of Asians, thatprovides gaming solutions to the dynamic Asian gaming market

“OUR APPROACH ISTO HAVE A SOLIDFOUNDATION HEREIN MACAU BEFOREWE GET INVOLVEDIN ANY TYPE OFUPCOMINGPROJECTSELSEWHEREINTERNATIONALLY.”

“WE WILL BE ONEOF THE PARTNERSIN A JOINTVENTURE FOR ACLOUD SERVICE INMACAU. THERE ARESOME OTHERSOCIAL NETWORKPLATFORMS THATWE’RE BUILDING UP.”

Lam Iao, Chief Executive Officer of Laxino

Chi Lei,Chief Technology Officer

of Laxino

MACAUA remarkable story of growth

Our World

AA UUNNIITTEEDD WWOORRLLDD SSUUPPPPLLEEMMEENNTT PPRROODDUUCCEEDD BBYY:: Ana Maria Nardelli and Eduardo Garcia Zapatero



Thursday, September 20, 2012Distributed by USA TODAY MACAU33

When people from one culturetry to get something done inanother culture, open-mind-edness and understanding arevery important qualities. Someparts of the world are, by the ac-cidents of history, much moreconducive to producing peoplewith those qualities, and onesuch place is Macau, the formerPortuguese territory near HongKong on the edge of south-eastern China.

Geocapital is dedicated tohelping bring people and busi-nesses from diverse culturestogether. Geocapital helps con-nect China to Portuguese-speaking countries, a collectionof nations which has its rootsin Europe and has spread toSouth America, Asia andAfrica.

Geocapital’s role is to intro-duce Macau and its investorsto businesses in the othercountries, and also to bringbusinesses from those coun-tries closer to each other aswell, using its specialized ex-pertise and connections tomake projects come togethersuccessfully and profitably.

“You can see the develop-ment of relationships amongstthese countries, like Brazil withAngola, Angola with Portugal,Portugal with Mozambique,and Mozambique with Ango-la,” says Jorge Ferro Ribeiro, co-Chairman of Geocapital andone of its principle sharehold-ers. “Macau is a platform ofcourse, which makes sense. Itdoesn’t replace these direct re-lations, but it complementsthem. It’s something you canuse to increase cooperation,not replace it.”

The company was foundedin 2005 to take advantage ofMacau’s unique history as aPortuguese territory in Chi-na. Geocapital’s other mainshareholders are Ambrose So,who is one of the company’s di-rectors and a member of theCommittee of InternationalRelations of the ConsultativeCouncil of the People’s Re-public of China, and StanleyHo, the biggest private investorin the former territory who al-so has holdings around theworld in economic sectors in-cluding entertainment, mar-itime and aerial transport, realestate, and finance.

The presence of Portuguesetraders in the Macau area datesback about 500 years, and overthe centuries the small tradingpresence developed into a full-blown territory. It was only in1999 that the territory waspeacefully returned to Chinesecontrol, and to this day it is gov-erned as a Special Adminis-trative Region of the People’sRepublic of China. It was thelast European territory onmainland Asia.

In its heyday the territory wasan important link in Portugal’schain of trading posts in EastAsia, India and Africa, and Geo-capital’s founders intended totake advantage of that historyright from the start. The com-pany has a wide range of in-vestments in most of the formerPortuguese colonies, and it’s al-ways looking for more sectors

Where East meets WestGeocapital blends thevalues of both east andwest through its visionaryleadership, and aftermany years, it continues todrive development

Geocapital has investmentsin a wide range of econom-ic areas, most importantlythe financial sector. Thecompany’s M.O. is to buy astake or form a partnershipwith a local bank, and thenuse that as a base to moveinto other areas.

In Guinea-Bissau,for example,Geocapital first

took over the country’sbiggest bank, Banco daAfrica Occidental. Its nextstep was to set up a newcompany, named Geogolfo,to operate in the agricultur-al-industrial sector and pro-duce biofuels. Geocapital is determined tohave a presence in agrobusi-ness and has made invest-ments in the sector innumerous countries includ-ing Angola, Brazil, CapeVerde and Mozambique.

In cooperationwith other part-ners, Geocapital

has set up a research and de-velopment project in CapeVerde that will take advan-tage of the island country’sexperience growing jatropha,a plant that will be used tomake fuel. The company has set up a jat-ropha plantation in Guinea-Bissau that will also supplythe raw material, and the con-struction of a jatropha refin-ery plant is also being studied.

In Mozambique,Geocapital fol-lowed its usual

pattern and first set up a fi-nancial institution calledMoza Banco, and through itis studying investments inseveral different sectors, in-cluding mining, hydroelec-tric and agriculture.

Geocapitalinvesting inthe world

In keeping with its strategy ofusing local banks as a platformfrom which to spread into oth-er parts of the economy, Geo-capital is in the process ofsetting up an investment bankin Macau.

The company plans to set upthe bank in partnership withthe Angolan lender Banco Pri-vado Atlantico, with whichGeocapital already has a strate-gic alliance. Among otherthings, the Macau bank will beused as a conduit for a $1 bil-lion development fund beingset up by the Chinese govern-

ment for projects in Por-tuguese-speaking countries.

Geocapital’s owners haven’tneglected the development oftheir home market, either. Theshareholders have been in-volved with CAM, the com-pany that built and operatesMacau’s international airport,and which has served as a con-

nection between mainlandChina and Taiwan, and ofcourse for many other desti-nations as well.

Macau has a multitude ofmuseums, churches, parks,temples, fortresses and gardensto visit, and is on the UnitedNation’s list of World HeritageSites. It offers visitors a combi-

nation of Portuguese colonialcharm and history along withimportant elements of Chineseculture and history.

As if all that weren’t enough,its excellent cuisine can be sam-pled in a wide range of restau-rants, and it’s also the gamingcapital of the region, for thosetourists who want to try theirluck at the roulette wheel or theblackjack table.

Geocapital shareholder Stan-ley Ho is also the Vice Chairmanof the board of directors ofCAM. Together they’re work-ing to make sure the airportcontinues to thrive and serve asthe entry point for travelersfrom other parts of the worldwho want to visit Macau andtake advantage of the many ac-tivities the former Portuguesecolony has to offer.

CAM is already preparingfor the decline in airport traf-fic that is accompanying the es-tablishment of more directflights between Taiwan and oth-er parts of China. The goal is at-tract low-cost airlines that canhelp connect tourists from oth-er parts of Asia.

“People from Taiwan like totravel to Mainland China viaMacau,” explains Liu Su Ning,CAM’s Executive Director. “It’svery convenient, and there aremany flights. But with more di-rect flights coming in the fu-ture, fewer passengers comethis way, and we could lose asmuch as 50% of our transit traf-fic volume. Since 2004 we havebeen working on attracting lowcost carriers to Macau becausethey bring passengers from dif-ferent cities in Southeast Asia.”

Geocapital isenthusiastically investingthroughout the Portuguese-speaking world, and thecompany hasn’t forgottenits home base in Macau

STANLEY HO, Vice Chairman of the boardof directors of CAM

of the economy that could ben-efit from its expertise.

“We only invest in Por-tuguese speaking countries, be-cause we want to be focused,”says Mr. Ferro. “These countrieshave so much potential that ifwe focus entirely on thesecountries, that is good enough.”

The Portuguese-speakingcountries around the world aretremendously rich in naturalresources, and their economiesare growing rapidly. Brazil isone of the world’s biggest ex-porters of food and minerals, forexample and just a few yearsago discovered immense de-posits of oil in its coastal waters.

Angola has been producingoil for decades, and also haslarge deposits of diamonds,bauxite and other minerals.The other former Portuguesecolonies, such as Mozambique,Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde,Sao Tome and Principe, andEast Timor, are also all ripe forinvestment to help them de-velop their resources and growtheir economies.

One important part of Geo-capital’s strategy is to gainknowledge and connections ineach of the countries throughtargeted investment in local fi-nancial institutions. In Portu-gal, for instance, Geocapital isassociated with one of the mostimportant shareholders of Mil-lennium BCP, one of the biggestbanks in that country.

“We must know each coun-try very well, but we must knowthe national players,” explainsMr. Ferro. “I know everybody

in Angola, and I know what ismissing. That is why it’s im-portant to have an investmentor commercial bank or privateequity in each country. Whenyou go there, you get privilegedinformation because you knowthe people, the economy andthe players, so you are in a verystrong position to go to the sec-ond phase.”

In Cape Verde, Geocapital isin a partnership with the islandcountry’s state in the Caixa Eco-nomica de Cabo Verde and al-so has a stake in an importantinsurance provider there. InGuinea-Bissau, the companyholds a majority position in thecountry’s biggest bank, Bancoda Africa Occidental (BAO).

In oil-rich Angola, Geocap-ital has a strategic partnershipwith Global Pactum and Ban-co Privado Atlantico and is as-sociated with state-owned oilcompany Sonangol, one of thebiggest companies on theAfrican continent.

Across southern Africa inMozambique, Geocapital has

partnered with MoçambiqueCapitais, which groups to-gether over 300 stockholdersfrom a broad range of thecountry’s social and businessworlds. Together they creat-ed Moza Banco and MozaCapital, institutions that arerapidly becoming touchstonesin the country’s growing fi-nancial sector.

Geocapital’s focus on thosecountries, with their abundantoil and other natural resources,is no coincidence. The com-pany is dedicated to helpingthe former Portuguese coloniesexploit their wealth while help-ing provide China’s boomingeconomy with the resources itneeds to continue its amazingeconomic expansion.

“China needs energy, min-ing and infrastructure for itsproducts,” says Mr. Ferro. “Wedo joint ventures with localplayers. Why can we do this?We have a very long trackrecord with investments inPortugal and Portuguesespeaking countries.”

“WE ONLYINVEST INPORTUGUESESPEAKINGCOUNTRIES,BECAUSE WEWANT TO BEFOCUSED.”

JORGE FERRO RIBEIRO, co-Chairman of Geocapital

Geocapital shareholders joined to build Macau



Distributed by USA TODAYThursday, September 20, 201244 MACAU

The Special AdministrativeRegion is home to 28 banks,as well as several small finan-cial services boutiques and anumber of life- and non-lifeinsurance companies.

Banking and financial ser-vices account for about 10% ofthe city’s gross domestic prod-uct. This figure can be ex-pected to grow as theeconomy diversifies andMacau’s banks expand into abigger role as a bridge betweenChina and the Portuguese-speaking countries in whichthey’re increasingly investing.

“Macau is in a unique posi-tion because it is part of Chi-na, but Macau knowsPortuguese culture,” says JorgeFerro Riberio, co-Chairmanof Geocapital, a Macau-basedinvestment company thathelps unite Chinese capitalwith projects in Portuguese-speaking countries.

“Portuguese culture waspresent in all these countries,including Mozambique andAngola,” Mr. Riberio explains.“So it is absolutely right to useMacau as a platform to in-

crease cooperation betweenChina and these countries.”

Macau’s financial industryhas achieved sustained growthin recent years while at the sametime maintaining a safe and sta-ble record of regulation and supervision. The Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM),has made sure of that, over-seeing the sector since it was es-tablished in 1989.

The Financial System Act,

which was approved in 1993,introduced reforms that fo-cused on preventive measuresand extensive monitoring of fi-nancial entities under the AM-CM’s supervision. The FSAimplanted rules established bythe Basel Committee on Bank-ing Supervision and helpedmake sure Macau’s bank’s arerock-solid and able to pass anystress test of their strength.

“The Macau banking sec-

tor, in the midst of overall eco-nomic recovery, scored resultswith flying colors again, whichlaid down solid foundation inthe realization of our long-term sustainable develop-ment,” says AMCM ChairmanAnselmo Teng.

Partly thanks to the AM-CM’s steady supervisory hand,Macau’s banking sector hadexcellent results in recentyears. In 2010, total assetsmanaged by banks increased26.5%, to 540 billion MacauPataca ($68 billion), with anextremely low non-perform-ing loan ratio of 0.4% and acapital adequacy ration of15.3%, well above levels re-quired by international bank-ing standards.

Not long after a time whenmany banks around the worldwere teetering on the edge ofcollapse – and in Europewhere some still are – it’s goodto know that Macau’s finan-cial institutions, regulated andguided by the AMCM, are inexcellent shape and ready tocontinue their recent strongpace of expansion.

Financially bridgingEast and WestMacau might be best known for its many casinos, but the SAR is rapidly becoming a regional financial center as well

Macau has one of the healthiestfinancial systems around. Ac-cording to Pedro Cardoso, CEOof Banco Nacional Ultramari-no (BNU), part of the credit forthe sector’s strength lies on theregulatory framework, whichplaces great emphasis on pre-ventative actions, prudentialmonitoring and tighter super-

visory practices inthe sector. Ther e g u l a t o r yframework un-derpinning theindustry has

b e e n

proving

its worth re-cently as Macau’sbanking sector re-ceived minimal impact

from the recent global financialcrisis. It has also helped instillconfidence in foreign investorswho have entered the SpecialAdministrative Region over thepast decade as part of the gam-ing and entertainment boomthat has fuelled Macau’s mas-sive economic growth.

In 2010, Macau’s gaming sec-tor’s contribution to the localeconomy rose to 40.9%. TheEconomic Intelligence Unit be-lieves the territory’s economywill increase by 15% in 2012 –making Macau the world’sfastest growing economy thisyear – and casinos are expect-ed to be the main source of thepredicted growth.

Since the gaming market wasliberalized in 2002, Macau’seconomy has expanded expo-nentially as foreign investorspoured vast sums of capital in-to the industry. The govern-ment insisted on investorsproviding bank guarantees toback up their commitment to in-ject a minimum of $500 millioninto Macau over the followingfive years. Therefore, the in-vestors sought out local enti-ties to get behind theirprojects.

Foreseeing a great futurein transforming Cotai’s en-tertainment scene, BNUpresented itself from theoutset as the supportingbank of choice for the in-ternational casino andresort operators, begin-ning with SandsMacau. Early involve-ment and the devel-opment of new andmore sophisticatedservices for the op-erators created anadvantage forBNU, placing itahead of other in-

stitutions thatinitially held

back, as theinvestors

increas-i n g l y

p u t

their trust in its abilities andchose BNU for their financingneeds.

This then led to BNU han-dling their corporate accounts,payrolls, and ultimately currentaccounts opened by employ-ees at the new resorts.

Resort operators have bene-fitted from the bank’s years ofexperience and presence inMacau, as well as its flexibility.Established in Lisbon, Portugal,in 1864 to issue bank notes forPortuguese overseas territoriesand to contribute to their eco-nomic development, BNU be-gan operations in Macau in 1902and has since built up an in-depthknowledge of the market. In 1974BNU was nationalized and in2001 it became a wholly ownedsubsidiary of the Caixa Geral deDepositos (CGD) group, whichis based in Portugal. It continuesto issue banknotes in Macau andthis year has released com-memorative Year of the DragonMOR 10 notes.

Management at BNU strong-ly believes that the future ofMacau, and of BNU, is brightand that it has the assets to be-come the gateway between Chi-na and Portuguese-speakingcountries. The bank’s Shanghairepresentative office opened in2006 and its main activity is toprovide information, marketsurveys and liaison services forthe head office.

BNU’s focus is set to be in-creasingly concentrated onsmall and medium-sized en-terprises (SMEs), believingSMEs need a solid and com-prehensive support.

In the retail banking sec-tor, its main goal is to in-crease the number ofproducts sold per cus-tomer. It has numerousawards to its credit for itsbusiness developments.

On the commercialbanking side, it has inten-sified relationships with lo-cal corporate customers byproviding banking services thathelp in handling their dai-

ly operations and cash manage-ment (payroll, POS and otherservices) and by issuing guaran-tees for companies involved inpublic tenders.

BNU now has 14 branchesin Macau and 450 employees.As a retail, commercial and is-suing bank, BNU has stronglycontributed over the past cen-tury to the economic and so-cial development of Macau.

Today, it continues to sup-port the activities of several non-profit organizations dedicatedto assisting people in need or tothe promotion of arts and cul-ture, including Tung Sin Tong,the Macau Child DevelopmentAssociation, the Macau DrugRehabilitation Association, theGrupo de Escuteiros Lusofonosde Macau and the Casa de Por-tugal em Macau.

Recognizing the importanceof higher education and also theneed to cultivate local experts,BNU awards scholarships tostudents with the highest markswho need financial support tocomplete their studies.

The first bank to roll new diceBeing behind the development of casinos from the beginning adds to Banco Nacional Ultramarino’s legacyas Macau’s issuing bank, comprehensive commercial and retail operations, longevity, and increasingsupport for small and medium-sized enterprises

“SINCE THE LASTQUARTER OF 2011

WE HAVE MADESIGNIFICANTPROGRESS IN

AREAS WHEREBNU WAS NOTTRADITIONALLY

SO STRONG.”

PEDRO CARDOSO, CEO of Banco Nacional

Ultramarino (BNU)

Macau’s banks hold an extremely low non-performing loan ratio of 0.4%



Thursday, September 20, 2012Distributed by USA TODAY 55

Angola, Africa’s sec-ond-biggest pro-ducer of oil, is acountry that isblessed with

abundant natural resourcesand a geographical locationthat can permit it to be a hubfor the entire region of south-ern Africa. In addition to oil,the country has timber, dia-monds, gold, and many othervaluable minerals.

Though wracked by a civilwar that lasted from its inde-

pendence from Portugal in 1975until the end of hostilities in2002, the country’s governmenthas taken advantage of a decadeof peace to work to improve theeveryday lives of its citizens.

Since the end of the civilwar, the United States hasbeen an enthusiastic partnerin helping the country devel-op its resources and provideAngolans with better lives.The U.S. has given Angolahundreds of millions of dollarsin aid for health, disease con-

trol and food programs, andhigh officials from both coun-tries have exchanged visits onmultiple occasions.

Thanks to the wealth gen-erated by its oil reserves and byinternational investment, An-gola’s economy has grownrapidly in the years since theend of the civil war. The econ-omy expanded 3.4% in 2010, ayear marked by recessions andeconomic crises in other partsof the world, and it grew 3.5%last year. The non-oil economy

grew more than twice as quick-ly in 2011, at 7.7%.

This year total gross domes-tic product is expected to ex-pand even faster than in 2011,at a pace of 8.2%. That expan-sion is helped by large andgrowing government invest-ment in Angola’s infrastruc-ture, including roads, ports andairports, all of which create jobsand ease the flow of goods andpeople around the country.

The governing MPLA partywas just re-elected with 73% of

the vote, returning PresidentJose dos Santos to power foranother five-year term. The par-ty’s share of the vote declinedfrom 80% in the previous elec-tion, while the main oppositionUNITA party saw its share ofthe vote double to 18%.

Observers from the Com-munity of Portuguese LanguageCountries called the vote freeand transparent, another signthat the country’s democracy isstable and well established andthat Angola is a place whereAmericans can do business.

State-owned Angola PublicTelevision, or TPA using its ini-tials in Portuguese, has beenbroadcasting programmingaround the country for decades.In recent years the companyhas undergone a transforma-tion, adding a second channelin 2000 and more recently re-ceiving government investmentto help it reach more Angolansand with more and better newsand entertainment.

“In many parts of our coun-try, television is the access win-dow for information, toknowledge and to contact withother parts of the world,” ex-plains Antonio Henriques daSilva, TPA’s CEO. “Therefore,when this window of access ismade with quality, and when itsupplies what people recognize

today as a priority, it can onlybring benefits.”

The broadcaster was found-ed in 1973 as RadiotelevisaoPortuguesa de Angola in Luan-da by the then-colonial gov-ernment. When Angola gainedits independence from Portugalin 1975, the new governmentwasted no time in giving thecompany its current name. Atfirst the station was only broad-cast in Luanda, and it wasn’t un-til 1979 that other cities beganreceiving TPA’s signal. By 1992the entire country could watchthe company’s programs.

In recent years the govern-ment decided to make major in-vestments to improve TPA,because the station was nolonger the only source of infor-mation and entertainment for

Angolans. Through the Inter-net and satellite television, An-golans were already beingexposed to a much broader rangeof high-quality programming.

“The TPA, as the main por-trait of the day-to-day life of An-golans, could not provide aproduct in terms of quality closeto what Angolans were seeing on[foreign Portuguese-languagenetworks such as] Globo or RTP,”Mr. da Silva said. “This imposeda new situation that forced TPA

to mobilize quickly in order toovercome some insufficienciesthat we had identified as beingharmful to the positioning thatwe wanted to give to TPA.”

One area that is receivingmuch investment is TPA’s newproduction center, located justoutside of Luanda. The centeris creating domestic program-ming, including news and en-tertainment, and is intendedto cooperate in joint produc-tions with producers in other

countries, especially thosewhere Portuguese is spoken asa native language.

The center makes program-ming for both TPA 1 and TPA2, and also for TPA Interna-tional, the station that was setup in 2003 and that in 2008 be-gan satellite broadcasts to Eu-rope. Now the internationalstation has set a much broaderand more ambitious goal ofreaching Angolans all aroundthe world, though without los-ing sight of its principal audi-ence, says Mr. da Silva.

“We are directing our pro-gramming first to the AngolanDiaspora in countries of Eu-rope, South Africa, Latin Amer-ica and Brazil, and then infunction of the interests thatmay exist in some paid TV net-works,” he says. “But our focusremains on the Angolan com-munity abroad that is mainlyconcentrated in Europe and it’sfor them that we already haveour platform available.”

A destination for future in-vestment will be the develop-ment of a digital broadcastnetwork. In keeping with TPA’smission of providing a usefuland educational service to An-golans, one of the goals will beto provide greater interactivityon that network, in order tohelp provide a public service toremote areas of the country thatdon’t have schools.

Quality TVfor Angolansnear and far

Maxxam CPEA Angola S.A.is a company with a long his-tory in Angola. The Gun-powder and ExplosivesCompany of Angola wasfounded in 1959, and it con-tinued its operations duringthe final decades of the coun-try ’s colonial period andthrough the civil war that fol-lowed the exit of the Por-tuguese.

The current version of thecompany was formed in2002, when Maxam Corp. In-ternational, or MCI, boughta 65% stake in CPEA. Afterthat purchase, the parentcompany invested heavily toupdate and modernize itschemical formulas andequipment in order to im-prove safety, quality and re-liability, while at the sametime boosting profit.

Maxam’s explosives areused by construction com-

panies for infrastructure pro-jects ranging from bridges,tunnels, roads, railways andpower stations. The compa-ny also provides goods andservices to different coun-

tries’ armed forces includingammunition, but also ser-vices related to the cleaningand decontamination of for-merly military-use land.

The company’s cartridgesare used for hunting and oth-er kinds of sport shooting,while its expertise in chem-icals allows it to provide itsown key raw materials. Max-am can also provide its cus-tomers with a complete rangeof technical advice on envi-ronmental and energy safe-ty issues.

Maxam does all this whilemaintaining the highest lev-el of security and safety con-trols during the processes ofmanufacture, distribution,storage, and after-sales main-tenance, while offering comprehensive technical assistance and constantly im-proving services to its manysatisfied clients.

Business is booming for MaxamPart of the global Maxam organization, Maxam CPEA Angola is an industrial group leaderin the development of civil explosives and key raw materials for the nitro chemical industry

Carlos Henrique Da Silva Aguincha, CEO of Maxxam CPEA Angola

“TELEVISION IS THEACCESS WINDOWFOR INFORMATION,TO KNOWLEDGEAND TO CONTACTWITH OTHER PARTSOF THE WORLD.”

ANTONIO HENRIQUES DA SILVA,CEO of TPA

ANGOLAOur World

TPA produces and broadcasts relevant programming forAngolans both at home and living abroad

AA UUNNIITTEEDD WWOORRLLDD SSUUPPPPLLEEMMEENNTT PPRROODDUUCCEEDD BBYY:: Louisa Ouass



Distributed by USA TODAYThursday, September 20, 201266

The Republic of CapeVerde is an archi-pelago of 10 islandsin the Atlantic off thecoast of West Africa.

The former Portuguese colonyhas spent more than threedecades since gaining its inde-pendence striving to improveliving conditions for its residents,an effort at which it has beenvery successful.

With living standards, litera-cy and other measures of well be-ing rising steadily, thegovernment is now workinghard to attract foreign invest-ment to broaden the set of ser-vices the country can offerforeign businesses and locals, toimprove infrastructure and tohelp bring prosperity to evenmore Cape Verdeans.

As an island country, trans-port and telecommunicationinfrastructure is hugely im-portant to Cape Verde for sev-eral different reasons. Ports,airports, telephones and In-ternet services have to be avail-able to allow the country’sresidents to communicate witheach other and to join the is-lands together.

Those same elements are al-so vital for attracting touristsand foreign businesses to thecountry. The government is wellaware of this, and has spent thepast several years investing inbuilding up modern and effi-cient services for use by resi-dents and visitors.

“In the last six years, Cape

Verde had a huge transforma-tion,” explained Infrastructureand Maritime Economy Min-ister Jose Veiga. “We’re bringingmodernization to the countrythrough infrastructure, roads,ports and airports. Right nowwe have four international air-ports, from almost none before.We have seven throughout thecountry, but only four of themare international.”

The government is now seek-ing investment to help build upboth its cargo and cruise shipports, to take advantage of Cape

Verde’s location betweenAfrican and North Americanports and European and SouthAmerican ports. With the prop-er facilities, the country can con-tinue its efforts to raise standardsof living for all.

TThhee cclleeaarr cchhooiiccee ooff ppoorrtt iinn tthheeeeaasstteerrnn AAttllaannttiiccCape Verde’s location nearshipping lanes between Eu-rope, South America, Africaand North America, makes ita natural trans-shipment pointfor cargo moving betweenthose markets.

Enapor, the company thatmanages all the ports in the for-mer Portuguese colony, has along-term plan to take advan-tage of the country’s strategiclocation by offering an efficient,

safe, stable and modern portthat can be used, and enjoyed,by shippers as well as by touristsand cruise ship lines.

Enapor’s plan will expand theport of Porto Grande on the is-land of Sao Vicente, into one ofthe biggest deep-water ports inthe West Mediterranean/WestAfrica region. The modernizedport will include a 180- to 200-meter quay for cruise-ships, an-other 150-meter quay for roll-onroll-off ships that can carry carsand other vehicles, and yet an-other quay for catamarans.

The port will make it mucheasier for tourists to travel be-tween the 10 islands that makeup the archipelago and attractnew cruise ship business, whileat the same time improving theisland’s economy in other, very

important ways, according toEnapor CEO Franklim Spencer.

The new port “will have asignificant effect on the low-ering of prices on importedconsumer goods and capitalequipment in the country, andconsequently will allow the

tourism sector to lower itsprices as well,” he explains.

The investment required forthe Porto Grande cruise-shipterminal is $19 million, and Ena-por is currently looking for pri-vate investors to help financethe ambitious project.

Cape Verde’s education systemhas undergone a remarkableand positive transformationsince the country gained its in-dependence from Portugal in1975. It has gone from an illit-eracy rate of close to 80% at in-dependence, to a literacy rateof about 90% now.

More importantly, it wentfrom having almost no educa-tional infrastructure – with on-ly two high schools in thewhole country as recently as1982, and no universities – tohaving more than 40 highschools and two universities.

Unlike many other Africancountries, which concentratedon building up their universi-ties when they gained their in-dependence, Cape Verdeadopted a different strategy.They instead focused firstly onprimary education and teachertraining, then as the populationaged, they added more educa-tional facilities at higher levels.

“Cape-Verdean society start-ed to grow and look for highereducation,” explained Dr. An-tonio Silva, the country’s Min-ister for Higher Education. “Sowe had to make the effort forthe creation of the public uni-versity and align the universitywith a development project.”

It wasn’t until 2001 that thecountry established its first

university, the UniversidadeJean Piaget (as it is called inPortuguese). It was onlyopened after the country care-fully laid the foundations of itseducational system, then con-tinued building from theground up, strengthening itevery step of the way.

In 2006 the country’s sec-ond university was formed, theUniversity of Cape Verde, fromthe merger of two colleges indifferent locations. The Insti-tute for Superior Education islocated in Cape Verde’s capi-tal, Praia, and the Sea Sciencesand Engineering Institute is inthe town of Mindelo.

A year after the new schoolwas formed, a third school was

added, the National Institutefor Agrarian Development andResearch. With the school’sthree campuses, it’s a naturalto encourage students to takeadvantage of modern tech-nology to broaden their edu-cational experiences.

“Our bet is on distance learn-ing,” explained Dr. PaulinoMonteiro, CV-Uni’s Adminis-trator. “We have a center of dis-tance learning campus that is inPalmarejo, we already havethree centers and video con-ferencing. Using those facili-ties, distance learning is used toreach the more remote islandsand enable young people inthese islands to have their ownlocal chances of education.”

Literacy rates are up and new high schools and universities have been built to keep aheadof demand in a country hungry for education opportunities. The University of Cabo Verdewas established in 2006 and offers Bachelor, Master and Doctorate degrees

Cape Verde’s educationalrenaissance

“IN THE LAST SIXYEARS, CAPE VERDEHAD A HUGETRANSFORMATION.WE’RE BRINGINGMODERNIZATIONTO THE COUNTRYTHROUGHINFRASTRUCTURE,ROADS, PORTS ANDAIRPORTS.”

JOSE VEIGA, Minister of Infrastructureand Maritime Economy

Cabo Verde’s main port, Porto Grande, is being converted into one of the largest deep-water ports in the West Mediterranean and West African regions

Before 2001, there were no universities in Cape Verde; today there are several withinternational agreements with other universities all over the world

CAPE VERDEThe Port of Africa

Our World

AA UUNNIITTEEDD WWOORRLLDD SSUUPPPPLLEEMMEENNTT PPRROODDUUCCEEDD BBYY:: Susana Herrero and Ugo Bagration

“PORTO GRANDE WILLHAVE A SIGNIFICANTEFFECT ON THELOWERING OF PRICESON IMPORTEDCONSUMER GOODSAND CAPITALEQUIPMENT AND WILLALLOW THE TOURISMSECTOR TO LOWERPRICES AS WELL.”

FRANKLIM SPENCER, CEO of Enapor


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