Portugal’s CTT Post Office is finally 100% privatised. The last tranche of the sale was announced this week – this far with very little information on the investors, simply that there are among “the best you could find”.
With the total sale netting the State €909 million, financial journalists are wondering, what next? What will this mean for the workers? What changes are in the pipeline? And will this privatisation pave the way for that of TAP, which the Government is so keen to offload?
According to CTT’s CEO Francisco da Lacerda, workers can remain “tranquil and confident”, while new working models, ensuring optimum flexibility, are developed. As to changes, these will involve a postal bank and be announced very soon: “During the first three months of next year,” he assured.
But as to whether TAP is next, Secretary of State Sérgio Monteiro present at the ceremony at EuroNext in Lisbon, would only say the Government was still evaluating potential investor interests.
CTT’s privatisation was the first in five years on the Portuguese market, and according to Secretary of State for the Treasury Manuel Rodrigues, “marks a new cycle of confidence in the national capitals market”.
