LatinNews Daily - 23 April 2020

* The secretary for privatisation and divestment in Brazil’s economy ministry, Salim Mattar, has said that the government’s divestment plans for this year are now postponed until 2021, in light of the global economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. An ambitious divestment programme was a key part of the government led by President Jair Bolsonaro’s plans to reduce the Brazilian state’s fiscal deficit, with Mattar noting that the government had been planning to sell R$150bn (US$27.46bn) worth of state assets this year. But since February, there have been no sales: “The environment is one of uncertainty. [...] There is no market appetite for the sale of shares and assets. This crisis took us by surprise,” Mattar said. He explained that plans to privatise electricity company Eletrobras by October have now been pushed back to next year, adding that divestments and privatisations will be important to attract investment and support economic recovery once the pandemic has passed.

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