In a move likely to please investors, Brazilian Finance Minister Antônio Palocci has promised to streamline government regulation of newly privatized industries such as telecommunications, power, and oil.
Investors have spent $80 billion buying privatized Brazilian companies since the mid-1990s. But some got their fingers burned because sales went ahead before regulations were in place. A row erupted earlier this year when the Communications Ministry tried to hold up rises in phone charges agreed to in earlier contracts. "We want to guarantee to investors that contracts will be respected," Palocci told BusinessWeek on Sept. 15.
Copyright 2003, Bloomberg L.P.
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