Bill to privatize Brazilian mail service almost ready

The bill to enable the privatization of Brazilian mail service Correios is expected to be submitted to congress “in the next two weeks,” according to the secretary of Brazil’s investment partnerships program (PPI), Martha Seiller.

The PPI is part of the ministry of economy and is responsible for privatization projects, concessions and PPPs.

The bill is currently being assessed by communications minister Fábio Faria, according to Seiller, who spoke on the last day of the telecommunications event Painel Telebrasil.

Faria also said in an interview with website UOL on Tuesday that it will be up to congress to map out the model to sell Correios and the coverage and service obligations for bidders.

At the same time, Brazilian development bank BNDES hired a private consultancy to prepare a study on the sale of the company, which will serve a basis for lawmakers and senators, according to Faria.

The minister previously said that at least five companies, including FedEx, DHL and domestic retailer Magazine Luiza have expressed interest in Correios. However, he underlined on Tuesday that no formal proposal has yet been received.

“MercadoLibre hasn't spoken to me yet. But I know that they will take part. The same with Amazon, but I haven’t met anyone,” Faria said.

Currently, Correios is the only logistics service that serves more than 95% of Brazil’s territory. It has almost 100,000 employees.