In Brazil, new Petrobras CEO says company to sell assets
Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente, who swore in today (Jun. 1), said the oil giant is to sell assets in a bid not to resort to transfers from the National Treasury.
“You're all familiar with the situation facing the National Treasury. There's a deficit [forecast for public accounts] of some 170 billion reais [$47.2 billion]. How could the company think of resorting to the Treasury in such a state of affairs?” he asked. “So we must be realistic. Settling this affair does come with selling assets,” he stressed.
Petrobras posted losses adding up to $344.9 million in the first quarter of 2016. The firm's debt totals $124.5 billion gross.
Parente went on to state that Petrobras is to contribute to reverse the current “difficult” landscape, marked by a downturn in the economy. “It's a tough scenario, with a negative gross domestic product, but it's the power of the economy and the fact that it was and will once again be the engine of our development, and that we'll work and contribute to reverse this negative GDP,” he said.
Fuel prices
The new CEO noted that the decision on the price of fuels will be a “professional” one. “The decision regarding fuel prices was a business decision. The government will not interfere in the professional management it wants Petrobras to lead. This was the instruction given by the president when he invited me.” Parente further noted that the period of political influence at Petrobras “is over now.”
*Andreia Verdélio and Yara Aquino contributed to this story.
Fonte: In Brazil, new Petrobras CEO says company to sell assets
