LatinNews Daily - 12 March 2024

*Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has summoned government ministers and Jean Paul Prates, CEO of the state-controlled oil company Petrobras, to the presidential palace to discuss the company’s recent decision to block a special payout to shareholders, among other matters related to the company’s objectives. Last week Petrobras’ board voted against paying an extraordinary dividend from the company’s Q4 2023 profits, which shook investor confidence, causing a drop in the state oil firm’s share price on 8 March. According to local media reports, concerns over government interference in the company are driving the drop in market confidence, as the Lula administration is reportedly prioritising objectives such as boosting investment in Petrobras’ renewable energy transition, at the expense of extraordinary shareholder payouts. Following the meeting at the presidential palace on 11 March, Brazil’s ministers for finance, Fernando Haddad, and for mining & energy, Alexandre Silveira, gave a press conference in which they suggested that the extraordinary dividend payment could be made at later date but highlighted that it is the government which holds the controlling stake in the company.