Petrobras Privatization Likely

The privatization of state-controlled oil company Petroleo 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 broadcast on Sao Paulo public television, Coelho said the sale of Petroleo Brasileiro SA could take place sometime in the future, according to a report on G1 website, Reuters reported. “I think it is going to happen. It is a way,” G1 quoted Coelho as saying. Regarding the privatization of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, the minister said the process will include Furnas Centrais Eletricas SA and Companhia Hidro Eletrica do Sao Francisco SA, known was Chesf. “We will privatize the holding company and affiliated units,” Coelho said during the TV broadcast, according to G1. In Brazil's Congress, there is a reluctance regarding the privatization of both subsidiaries, G1 reported.