Secretary Reiterates: Bolsonaro Government Will Not Privatize Petrobras, Caixa or Banco do Brasil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Special Secretary of Privatization, Disinvestment and Markets of the Ministry of Finance, Salim Mattar, reiterated yesterday, October 11th, during the Brazil 2019 Investment Forum, that Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal and Petrobras will not be privatized under the government of President Jair Bolsonaro.

“In my term of office, there is no mention of the privatization of Petrobras, nor of Caixa, nor of Banco do Brasil. These companies will not be sold,” he said.

The government’s plan, he said, is to privatize all 637 state-owned companies, but some of them will be left out. “We will sell all which are feasible to sell.”

Among the companies that will not be privatized are those in the area of national security. “Some military national security companies and companies that Congress believes should not be sold will not be sold”.

Mattar said the government has convened to define strategies to expedite privatizations. “We are currently discussing, in several areas, how we can do this [privatize]. Because it has a complex legal framework already in place which is difficult to change. So this is a major challenge,” he said.

The government’s plan, according to the secretary, is to fast-track and accelerate sales of state-owned companies.

“We need to develop a fast track to sell these companies faster. I can’t name names, but the fastest we’ll be able to sell, we’ll spend between 10 and 11 months. A company that, in the private sector, would be sold in 60 or 75 days”.

“The Brazilian state is heavy, slow, bureaucratic and costly,” he said, adding that the government will do everything possible to reduce its size. “We will do our utmost to reduce the state’s presence and sell as many state-owned companies as possible”.

Source: Agência Brasil