SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Brazil’s new government, worried about growing foreign interests in its mining assets, is considering steps to limit foreign purchases of the country’s mines, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo said yesterday.
The government, which expects to send a draft legislation to overhaul the mining sector by June, will likely introduce mechanisms to create hurdles for buyers of Brazilian mines, Folha reported, without saying how it obtained the information.
Such mechanisms could include imposing minimum domestic supply quotas, Folha reported. Under the new legislation, the government could also restrict foreign participation in mining projects based “on the investors’ profile,” it added. A spokeswoman at the presidential palace in Brasilia declined to comment on Folha’s story.
President Dilma Rousseff, who as chief of staff of the previous administration defended tougher oversight of the mining industry, wants the mining measures approved by the end of the year, Folha said.
Chinese companies have dramatically expanded their presence in Brazil’s mining sector in recent months. Rousseff and other top officials have expressed growing concern over what they see as an increasingly one-sided economic relationship with China.
