Agência Brasil
Rio de Janeiro – The president of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Carlos Lessa, says that the bank is interested in financing the gas industry in the Northeastern region of the country.
But he explains that red tape has made it difficult. Under present legislation, government enterprises have been prohibited from contracting debt. A 1986 ruling considers state-run enterprise investments to be public expenditures. That means a government enterprise cannot invest (or spend money) except without contracting debt, which is almost impossible.
Lessa calls this a straitjacket. He says he is trying to get specific legislation exempting the gas sector from the ruling.
