Investors know that the government controls Petrobras, says Silveira.
Petrobras' board decided to retain 100% of the approximately 44 billion reais in potential extraordinary dividends.
(Reuters)- The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, stated this Monday that the Petrobras funds allocated by the board to a contingency account have a specific purpose: the distribution of dividends at the appropriate time.
The statement was made after the minister left a meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad. According to Silveira, there was no discussion about Petrobras dividends on Monday.
Last week, Petrobras' board decided to retain 100% of the approximately 44 billion reais in potential extraordinary dividends, relating to the 2023 fiscal year, in a statutory reserve recently created by the company.
The decision not to pay extraordinary dividends came from Lula himself, who argues that the oil company should expand its investments, according to two government sources.
Silveira further emphasized that all investors know the government is the controlling shareholder, holding a majority on the board. He also stated that the government has been working to make Petrobras more attractive to both domestic and foreign investors.