Brazil Sees Possible Petrobras Privatization in Future

A privatization of state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA is feasible in the long run, Brazil's Mines and Energy Minister Fernando Coelho Filho said late on Monday, in a surprising remark amid rising controversy over state asset sales in Latin America's largest economy.

 

Speaking on a late night interview show on São Paulo public television, Coelho Filho said the sale of Petroleo Brasileiro SA could take place some time in the future, according to a report on G1 website.

 

"I think it is going to happen. It is a way," G1 quoted Coelho Filho as saying.

 

Regarding the privatization of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, the minister said the process will include Furnas Centrais Elétricas SA and Companhia Hidro Elétrica do São Francisco SA, known was Chesf.

 

"We will privatize the holding company and affiliated units," Coelho Filho said during the TV broadcast, according to G1. In Congress, there is a reluctance regarding the privatization of both subsidiaries, G1 reported.

 

The ministry's press office did not have an immediate comment on Coelho Filho's remarks.


(Reporting by Ana Mano; editing by Jason Neely)