Portuguese immigration perspectives on doing business in Portugal: As reported by the Portuguese newspaper Diario
Economico, Anbang Insurance Group has offered to acquire Novo Banco, the third-largest bank in Portugal, for approximately 3.5 billion euros (approximately 25 billion RMB).
The report states that Anbang's offer accounts for Novo Banco's capital injection requirements of up to 1 billion euros, with the specific amount depending on the results of European stress tests. If Novo Banco's capital requirement exceeds planned levels, Anbang intends to negotiate a discount on its 3.5 billion euro offer.
The predecessor of Novo Banco was Banco Espirito Santo (BES), which was previously Portugal's largest bank by market capitalization. Regarding the profitability of BES, it reported a net loss of 518 million euros in 2013, and a net loss of 3.857 billion euros between June 2013 and June 2014. The return on equity plummeted from -6.6% in 2013 to -69.8% in 2014. In terms of bank assets, loan loss provisions increased by 122.9% year-on-year in 2014, with bad debts doubling over the year. Net assets fell by 41.3% year-on-year in 2014.
In 2014, BES eventually declared bankruptcy. Following the bankruptcy, the Central Bank of Portugal initiated a rescue plan to save the nation's largest bank by market capitalization through restructuring and capital injection.
Banco Espirito Santo was initially split into two parts: a "good bank" and a "bad bank."
After the split, the Portuguese government injected 4.9 billion euros into the "good bank." All deposits, senior debt, and the majority of assets from the original Banco Espirito Santo were transferred to this "good bank," which was renamed "Novo Banco." Subordinated debt was transferred to the "bad bank," which is held by the major shareholders of Banco Espirito Santo, the Espirito Santo (ES) Group, and subsidiaries of Banco Espirito Santo in Angola. Following the restructuring, all healthy assets were transferred to the "good bank," Novo Banco, while toxic assets were relegated to the "bad bank."
Other entities previously interested in acquiring Novo Banco include: China's Anbang Insurance Group (which currently has no operations in Portugal), China's Fosun International (which purchased the insurance company Fidelidade from the Portuguese government and acquired the healthcare company Saúde Luz from Novo Banco), and the U.S. investment fund Apollo Global Management (which acquired the insurance company Tranquilidade from Novo Banco).
The report indicates that final negotiations between the Central Bank of Portugal and Anbang are currently underway.
