Securities Investment Companies for Promotion of the Economy: First Notes

João Nuno Barros

Keywords

commercial companies; finance; investment.

Abstract

Following the search, by national corporate entities, of new ways to finance their activities, the Portuguese legislator created and regulated, through Decree-Law no. 77/2017, from 30 July, the Sociedades de Investimento Mobiliário para Fomento da Economia (SIMFE). The creation of this new corporate finance vehicle fits in the scope of Programa Capitalizar, and its main purpose is to promote a strong and sustained recovery of economic growth, through the concession, to national small and medium enterprises, of news ways to obtain funds, thus guaranteeing the access to unconventional financing methods. The correct apprehension of the merits, or demerits, of the solution provided by the Portuguese legislator, by virtue of the creation of SIMFE, depends on carrying out a general analysis to its legal regime. Therefore, it is mandatory to analyze the legal nature of the new corporate vehicle, the types of investment that SIMFE are authorized, by law, to carry on, their constitution regime and capital structure, and also the suitability requirements that must be observed by the members of their social bodies. Only with the conclusion of this analysis it will be possible to issue a reasonable opinion regarding the expected success of SIMFE.