Portugal's China-based financial and legal firms can help businesses expand to new territory

Portugal's banking and finance sector gained importance in the 1990s, as the economy shifted to focus on services.

Following the gradual but thorough privatization of state banks that had begun in the late 1980s, Caixa Geral de Depsitos remained the only State-controlled financial services firm in 2000, and the government continues to rule out its privatization for the time being.