Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has been looking to German investment for Portugal’s privatisation plans.
During a visit to Berlin on September 1, Pedro Passos Coelho met with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and stated that German investors are “very welcome in Portugal”.
One of the companies highlighted as a possible investor in Portugal was the airline Lufthansa.
Speaking on September 2 to the German newspaper Handelsblatt, he said: “Lufthansa would be very well advised if it was to develop the market in South America and Africa alongside Portuguese airline TAP.”
He added: “I imagine Lufthansa is following our privatisation programme attentively as TAP is included in it. Surely that (TAP’s privatisation) would be a good investment for a German company.”
Pedro Passos Coelho also added during the trip that the German gas and electricity supplier E.ON had expressed an interest in buying into EDP if the government’s plans to sell a 20% stake in the company came
to fruition.
Following the news, shares in EDP rose by 8.4% on the Lisbon stock exchange.
