The government rejected advancing with Codelco privatization on Tuesday after the Republican Party proposal. Biminister Daniel Mas stressed the focus is on operational efficiency without changing state ownership.
Economy and Mining Biminister Daniel Mas stated the government does not contemplate changing Codelco ownership. Instead, it is evaluating the sale of nonessential assets from its subsidiaries.
“It is a discussion that has been going on for some time. We have the opinion of selling some goods that are dispensable, that we are not for privatizing,” Mas said. He added that the main challenge is to improve the financial and operational performance of the company.
The Republican proposal, led by Arturo Squella, seeks to incorporate private capital to address debt of about US$ 25,000 million. Codelco board president Bernardo Fontaine has reiterated that the company will remain 100% state-owned.
The opposition rejected the Republican initiative. Former officials and lawmakers described it as a limit not even crossed during the dictatorship and defended that copper must remain owned by all Chileans.
