Macao Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has given Haitong Bank SA, a Chinese-owned investment bank in Portugal, permission to open a branch in Macao, his government has announced.

The branch may give financial advice, perform commercial services, make cash and foreign exchange transactions, and issue or place out securities, according to an announcement on Monday in the Macao SAR Official Gazette.

In 2015 Haitong Securities of China bought Banco Espírito Santo de Investimento, the investment banking arm of Portuguese bank Novo Banco, and renamed it Haitong Bank, to help the new owner expand into developed markets in Europe and emerging markets in Latin America.

Its website says Haitong Bank has offices in São Paulo in Brazil, and in Hong Kong and Shanghai.