The board of directors of ARC decided "unanimously not to oppose the aforementioned merger", since, in the relevant markets identified, "it is not likely to create significant barriers to effective competition", according to the resolution consulted this Thursday by Lusa.
The Grupo Carrinho, which operates in the agri-food sector, holds 100 percent of Banco de Comércio Indústria (BCI) and intends to acquire between 65 and 80 percent of the share capital of Banco Keve, according to previous reports in the press.
Without disclosing the percentage of share capital that Grupo Carrinho proposed for acquisition, ARC considers the risk of access to strategic information from competitors in the various sectors in which the business group operates to be "low", as it proposes an operational governance that is equidistant between the group's "core" activities and others in the financial segment, it explains.
In this ruling, the competition regulator also highlights that, from the point of view of competition law analysis, the regulatory requirements of the banking sector do not represent barriers to entry and expansion, "as they result from the specificities of the activity and serve as mechanisms to safeguard the legitimate interests of customers and the security and integrity of the financial system".
As a result of the assessment, "it is concluded that the act in question, as notified, is not likely to create or reinforce a dominant position that could result in significant obstacles to effective and potential competition in the market", it highlights.
According to ARC, the National Bank of Angola, the regulator and supervisor of the Angolan financial system, also did not oppose the implementation of this concentration, "as it involves the acquisition of shares in a banking institution with a small market share".
Banco Keve's main shareholder is Spot Investimentos (37.41 percent), followed by Rui Campos (30.43 percent) and Vasco Campos (8.83 percent). The remaining 23.33 percent are identified as others, according to the banking unit's website.
