Brazilian government looks at opening capital of the Postal Service

The Brazilian Ministry of Communications is studying the opening of the capital of the national Postal Services as an alternative for modernizing and expanding the company, as informed today (12 september) by the minister of Communications, Hélio Costa.

“The opening [of capital] is under discussion. Just as the Petrobras (state-owned oil company) did, and just as others [state-owned companies] did. It is a hypothesis,” said the minister, calling attention to the fact that the measure does not entail privatisation, in which case the Union would control the company.

The minister submitted today to the minister of Finance, Guido Mantega, the proposal for expansion of the Postal Service, of which, according to him, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was already aware.

According to the minister, the establishment of a large logistics company, linked to the state-owned one, would be another alternative for catering to the “huge demand” in the order delivery market. “We are forecasting an increase of over 100 pct for next year. Either the Postal Services will prepare itself, or it will end up losing this market,” he stated.

Another proposal would be the restructuring of the Postal Bank, which currently functions in partnership with privately owned bank Bradesco. According to Hélio Costa, the bank has 5,200 branches, around 5,000 accounts are opened per day, and 10 billion Brazilian reais (USD 5.1 billion) are deposited.