Airports, ports, railroad for sale as Brazil seeks to raise $1.75 billion
Brazil will sell operating rights to 22 airports, five ports and a railroad in a massive auction this week, seeking to raise $1.75 billion and soothe investors wary of recent volatility in Latin America's biggest economy.
The three-day infrastructure concession auction, which kicks off Wednesday, has drawn interest from big international players including France's Groupe ADP and Vinci, Spain's Aena, Brazil's own CCR, and Brazilian-Argentine consortium Inframerica.
The question is how high such firms will bid at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has upended the transport and travel industries worldwide, and as analysts warn Brazil faces twin health and political crises that are clouding its economic future.
"It's not ideal timing," said lawyer Leticia Queiroz of Sao Paulo firm Queiroz Maluf, which specializes in public-private partnership contracts.
"It's not a good business environment," given the uncertainties the pandemic has piled onto the already tricky question of valuing long-term infrastructure investments, she told AFP.
"I don't think (the auctions) will be as competitive as expected. I think there will be less bidders."
Originally scheduled for October last year, the...