China Sonangol invests in Galicia

The world famous Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Galicia

The Galicia region of Spain, which wants to belong to the Community of Portuguese-
speaking Countries due to its historical and cultural ties to Portugal, is set to have a Chinese-Angolan business presence.
By the end of March, a source from China Sonangol told local newspaper La Voz de Galicia, the purchase of a majority stake in Galician shipbuilder Rodman is due to be concluded. Rodman is valued at around 100 million euros.
The agreement came after lengthy negotiations and a meeting at the end of February, between Sam Pa, of China Sonangol, and Manuel Rodríguez, of the Rodman group, which unblocked the process.
For China Sonangol, the deal “begins with the acquisition” of Rodman, from which it commissioned in September last year 40 patrol boats and 10 catamarans for 350 passengers, for a total of 25 million euros, said the Galician newspaper.
The initial agreement provided for the purchase of 90 percent of Rodman, with 10 percent remaining in the hands of current shareholders, who would also would have a stake in Sonangol’s shipyard in Lobito, which Manuel Rodríguez has already visited.
The stake to be taken by China Sonangol should be less than initially anticipated, missing now that the presidency of the Spanish autonomous region has authorised the purchase of the company, which has a division specialised in the construction of large ships to support the oil industry.
Currently, this division of Rodman has no order backlog, despite taking part in dozens of bids, while its other division is now dealing with the China Sonangol order.
China Sonangol has is 70 percent Chinese-owned, by New Bright International Development, based in Hong Kong and 30 percent is in Angolan hands.
According to the Galician press, Sam Pa has been travelling frequently to the region, also expressing interest in the winemaking and food sectors.
Galicia, which has important historical and cultural links with Portugal, in April 2014 adopted a law to law to strengthen ties with the Portuguese-speaking countries.
Law 1/2014, also known as the Paz Andrade law, “for the use of the Portuguese language and ties with the Portuguese-speaking countries,” states that Portuguese is now the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere and a working language of 20 international organizations such as the European Union, and an official language of “nine countries and the territory of Macau, China.”
“These include economic powers such as Brazil and other emerging economies,” says the law, which sets out that Portuguese should be taught more in the autonomous region and used in public administration and that the presence of entities and people speaking from Portuguese-speaking territories Portuguese should be promoted at events in the Galician Autonomous Community.
Without referring specifically to the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries and the Macau Forum, the two great diplomatic and political pillars of the Portuguese-speaking countries, the Galician law determines the “participation of institutions in Portuguese-speaking forums of all kinds,” including economic and cultural ones.
Along with Equatorial Guinea, which in 2014 joined the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, Galicia accounts for an additional 76 billion euros in to the economic weight of the Portuguese language bloc.
MDT/Macauhub