Proving that Portugal is still very much on the map of Chinese investors, the president of Chinese-European equity firm A Capital has said that Portugal is a “fantastic gateway to Europe and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa”.
Speaking to Lusa news agency, André Loesekrug-Pietri claims Chinese companies now have to “prove that they not only have money, but know how to play by the rules and be strategic”.
He explained Portugal is a “financially-dependent” country that was hungry for investment during the reign of the troika, but now has the freedom to choose from a larger number of potential investors.
As Lusa points out, Portugal has become one of the most important markets for Chinese investment in the last few years, right behind the UK, Germany and France.
Besides providing excellent access to the European market, Loesekrug-Pietri said Portugal also poses an opportunity for Chinese companies to reach Africa.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see Portuguese and Chinese companies cooperating in Africa. The Portuguese provide a good image and the local contacts, while the Chinese provide the financial capacity,” he said.
In fact, Loesekrug-Pietri says that “the strategic need for Chinese companies to invest in foreign countries has never been so high” following the Chinese stock collapse and the weakening of its economy.
As the businessman said, many “private equity firms have 99% of their assets in China, but if they want to be safe, they should divide between many countries”.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has already said that national companies are planning to invest $1.25 billion abroad in the next decade.
