Cape Verde - Services

Cape Verde's services sector is small and widely dispersed. The majority of the income produced in this sector comes from port-related services, including fueling and repair services. The Banco de Cabo Verde, the central bank, is expected to gain additional autonomy under the 1999 constitutional reforms. Banco Comercial do Atlântico (BCA) and Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde (CECV) are the only commercial banks, both of which are in the process of being privatized. Two Portuguese banks have opened in Cape Verde and should raise the availability of credit. Reforms in the financial sector have allowed the government to offer tax-free government bonds and high yield savings accounts. A stock exchange opened in Praia in 1999.

Tourism contributed only 3 percent to the GDP in 1998 but has been identified as having significant potential growth. The government aims to attract 400,000 visitors per year by 2008, a big expansion from the 57,000 visitors in 1998. Several new hotel developments are underway, and since the mid-1990s tourist arrivals have grown by 11 percent per year, with tourists coming mainly from Europe (especially Portugal).