Notice No. 8/95 of August 8

NOTICE NO. 8/95 OF AUGUST 8

The National Bank of Angola, with a view to establishing special rules for the operation of Currency Exchange Houses, in the exercise of the competence attributed to it by Article 43 of Law No. 4/91, the Organic Law of the National Bank of Angola, and by paragraph c) of Article 16 of the same Law, considering the need to update Notice No. 06/92 of August 12;

DETERMINES:

ARTICLE 1
Currency Exchange Houses shall have as their object the carrying out of purchase and sale operations of foreign banknotes and coins, or traveller's cheques, in accordance with the terms and conditions of Article 11 of this Notice.

ARTICLE 2
To obtain authorization, the entities referred to in the preceding article must meet the following requirements:
a) have as their exclusive object the carrying out of purchase and sale operations of foreign banknotes and coins, or traveller's cheques; b) adopt the form of a joint-stock company or a limited liability company; c) have a share capital fully paid up in cash and never less than KZR 240,000,000.00 (Two hundred and forty million Adjusted Kwanzas); d) include the expression "Currency Exchange House" in their corporate name; e) be fit and proper persons, the partners with qualifying holdings in the respective share capital, as referred to in Article 5, as well as the administrators, directors, managers, or members of the Supervisory Board.

ARTICLE 3
Authorization requests must be submitted to the National Bank of Angola, accompanied by the following documents:
a) indication of the headquarters and location or locations where counters are planned to be opened; b) articles of incorporation of the company; c) personal and professional identification of the partners, specifying their respective shareholdings in the capital, as well as the administrators, directors, managers, and members of the Supervisory Board; d) a sworn declaration by each partner with a qualifying holding in the respective share capital stating that neither they nor companies or enterprises over which they have ensured control or for which they have served as administrators, directors, or managers have been declared insolvent or bankrupt.

ARTICLE 4
The National Bank of Angola may request interested parties to provide other information it deems appropriate for the processing of the application.

ARTICLE 5
A participation is considered qualifying if its nominal value represents, directly or indirectly, at least 10% of the respective share capital or voting rights.

ARTICLE 6
The acquisition of shares that results in the acquirer holding a qualifying participation in the capital of a currency exchange house requires prior authorization from the National Bank of Angola.

ARTICLE 7
The authorization to conduct currency exchange business shall expire if the applicants renounce it, or if the currency exchange house fails to commence operations within one year from the date of grant. In the latter case, the file must be updated and a new request submitted to the National Bank of Angola.

ARTICLE 8
1 - Violations of the mandatory provisions of this instrument, its complementary regulations, and the determinations or instructions of the National Bank of Angola shall be punished with:
a) Warning; b) a monetary fine to be determined by the National Bank of Angola, which may not exceed 20% (twenty percent) of the minimum capital required to establish a currency exchange house; c) temporary prohibition from conducting currency exchange business; d) revocation of the license to conduct currency exchange business.

2 - The sanctions provided for in point 1 of this article shall be applied whenever:
a) any of the requirements for granting authorization are absent; b) activity ceases or significantly reduces for a period exceeding six months; c) violations exist in management and internal accounting organization of the entity; d) failure to comply with norms and instructions issued by the National Bank of Angola; e) absence of guarantee of regular fulfillment of obligations to creditors.

3 - The sanctions provided for in point 1 of this notice may be applied cumulatively.

ARTICLE 9
The sanctions provided for in point 1 of the preceding article shall be applied by the National Bank of Angola through duly documented administrative procedures, with notice given to the offenders, subject to contentious appeal for those provided for in paragraphs c) and d).

ARTICLE 10
Currency exchange houses are subject to registration with the National Bank of Angola, which must be completed at least one month prior to the commencement of their activities.

ARTICLE 11
In addition to any others that may subsequently be indicated by the National Bank of Angola, currency exchange houses may carry out, at free market rates, purchase and sale operations of foreign banknotes and coins or traveller's cheques under the conditions set out in the following paragraphs. 1 - In operations with residents, they may:
a) sell foreign banknotes and coins or traveller's cheques in exchange for Adjusted Kwanzas intended for the payment of expenses related to travel abroad; b) purchase foreign banknotes and coins or traveller's cheques in exchange for Adjusted Kwanzas.

2 - In operations with non-residents, they may:
a) purchase foreign banknotes and coins or traveller's cheques in exchange for Adjusted Kwanzas; b) sell foreign banknotes and coins or traveller's cheques in exchange for Adjusted Kwanzas.

ARTICLE 12
For the regular exercise of their activities, currency exchange houses shall:
a) open deposit accounts in national currency at resident credit institutions, which shall be debited and credited exclusively with banknotes and cheques in Adjusted Kwanzas, corresponding to the purchases and sales of foreign currency negotiated with clients; b) open deposit accounts denominated in foreign currency at resident credit institutions for purposes they deem appropriate, and in particular for the foreign exchange coverage of traveller's cheques sold to clients; c) mandatorily use a document (receipt, slip, or similar document) to formalize foreign currency purchase or sale operations, which must contain at minimum fields for the following indicators: name of the currency exchange house, date and operation number, nature of the operation (purchase or sale), name and identification of the client (ID number or taxpayer number with the Ministry of Finance), foreign currency transacted (USD, FRF, etc.), whether banknotes or coins, quantity traded, exchange rate applied, subtotal in national currency, commissions charged on the operation, total of the operation in national currency, method of settlement of the operation (whether by cheque or cash), signature of the client and the currency exchange house employee, with one copy of the document intended for the client.

ARTICLE 13
Currency exchange houses focused on manual exchange trade must operate with their respective share capital and profits resulting from foreign currency purchases and sales, and may not resort to loans or financing from banks or third parties (individuals or legal entities) to replenish or increase their treasury funds.

ARTICLE 14
The National Bank of Angola shall issue the technical regulations deemed appropriate for the implementation of this notice.

ARTICLE 15
The National Bank of Angola may define, for each currency exchange house, the limits of their respective foreign exchange positions and the destination to be given to amounts that exceed them.

ARTICLE 16
In addition to other obligations imposed by Law, the Chart of Accounts, the organization of balance sheets and other documents, as well as the valuation of the assets and liabilities of currency exchange houses, must comply with the regulations of the National Bank of Angola.

ARTICLE 17
Currency exchange houses must send to the National Bank of Angola, in accordance with the technical norms and instructions transmitted to them and within the deadlines set by it, the accounting, information, statistical, or other data requested.

ARTICLE 18
1 - The opening of new counters by currency exchange houses already in operation in localities where they do not currently have counters requires special prior authorization from the National Bank of Angola, for which interested parties must submit a written request to that entity. 2 - The opening of branches in localities where the currency exchange house already has a counter or counters does not require the special authorization required in point 1 of this article, and therefore must merely notify the National Bank of Angola through its Supervision Directorate.

ARTICLE 19
This notice enters into force immediately, repealing Notices Nos. 06/92 of August 12, 12/93 of December 16, and 06/95 of July 17.

PUBLISHED
Luanda, AUGUST 8, 1995
THE GOVERNOR

ANTÓNIO GOMES FURTADO