ECOPETROL: Government Should Sell Shares To Manage Fiscal Deficit, Says BVC

(RTTNews) - The chairman of the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC), Juan Pablo Cordoba, suggested that a viable option to improve the fiscal deficit of the Colombian government is selling another 10% of the state-owned oil company Ecopetrol.

The Colombian government owns almost 90% of Ecopetrol and has authorization from Congress to lower its stake until it reaches 80%.

"There is room to sell part of the company. The approach is that for this new fiscal path there is a conversation about the management of assets and liabilities that would incorporate the sale of some of the nation's shares. That could be Ecopetrol or other investments made by the nation," said the official, quoted by the La Republica newspaper.

According to C?rdoba, the operation would help to reduce the debt, give the government additional resources and increase fiscal margins.

Cordoba also stressed that other government assets could be analyzed to help open room in the fiscal deficit while defining the rules that are taken within a new pension reform.