Standard Bank, a South Africa-based bank, has been granted a banking licence by the Angolan council of ministers. The license enables the bank to start operating as a full-service bank in Angola, with an emphasis on corporate and investment banking by the middle of 2010.
Standard Bank has been waiting for a banking licence since May 2008.
Clive Tasker, chief executive of Standard Bank Africa, said: “Angola is an extremely important market for Standard Bank. It offers a great many exciting opportunities in a number of crucial industries, including oil and gas, mining, agriculture and general commerce.”
