Just like a series or telenovela of those that abound in streaming services, the crisis in Petroperú is just going through its first season; and in the opinion of various analysts, to the extent If measures are not taken to remove the risk in the sustainability of the first company in Peru, the series would have a fatal outcome.
blow for blow
In the last chapter of this season, the owners of Petroperú: the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) -with 60% of shares- and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) -with 40% of shares- meet in an open and public disagreement regarding the administration and conduct of the state company.
On Thursday the 17th, after Petroperú’s General Shareholders’ Meeting held a day earlier, the company issued a statement through its official channels in which it states that both the board of directors and the administration received the support of the shareholders.
This publication, which lasted less than an hour online, was flatly denied by the MEF, which through another statement clarified that neither the Minister Oscar Graham nor the Deputy Minister of Finance, Betty Sotelo, expressed any support for the board or the administration of the state; On the contrary, they expressed their concern about the financial situation of the company, which in recent days received reductions in its rating by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Rating, a fact associated with the uncertainty of the year’s audit. 2021 not yet done.
The MEF also noted that it was this office that requested, on March 11, the call (urgently) to the General Meeting of Shareholders (JGA) to be informed about the situation of Petroperú’s debts.
Around midnight on the same Thursday, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (minem) came to the rescue of Petroperú and issued a statement in which they point out that it was they, in their capacity as president of the JGA, who requested that the universal meeting be held and not the MEF.
In the statement from the office led by Carlos Palacios, who previously served as regional director of Energy and Mines in the Junín region, a position to which he was appointed by Vladimir Cerrón in 2019, the General Shareholders’ Meeting is also urged “to ensure the interests of the country and give our support, protection and absolute defense to Petroperu, for being a company of all Peruvians”. East release It is signed by Minister Palacios, the Vice Minister of Hydrocarbons, Rafael Reyes, and the General Secretary of Minem, Wider Herrera, lawyer of the mother of Vladimir Cerrón.
But FEM He was not silent, and yesterday morning two documents were made public, the first of which was official letter 199 of March 1, addressed to Minister Palacios, in which Graham reiterates its request to convene JGA, due to concern about alleged irregularities related to the public tender for the supply of biodiesel.
Subsequently, in official letter 235 of March 11, the MEF invoked Mario Contreras, president of the Petroperú board of directors, to summon JGA. “The financial situation of the company is of great interest to the MEF due to our quality as a shareholder, as well as the impact it can generate on the sovereign’s credit rating, which has implications for the country’s public finances,” the document refers. .
At the close of this edition, Minister Palacios sent official letter 137 addressed to Mario Contreras, president of Petroperú, so that today he convenes the Universal Board at 4 in the afternoon to address: “Approval of absolute support in favor of Petroperú by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in the face of the crisis that it has been going through as a result of the delay generated by the Comptroller General of the Republic regarding the audit of the financial statements for the year 2021, requested since July 2021″.
The meeting and the call
The discrepancies between the two offices about the management of Petroperú come almost from the beginning of this government and they were revealed, and with greater zeal, on the night of last Wednesday, March 16, at the General Shareholders’ Meeting.
At the meeting, held on the 21st floor of the Petroperú headquarters in San Isidro, the MEF delegation, made up of Minister Graham and Deputy Minister Sotelo, arrived with the firm idea that changes are required in the composition of the administration . This position is not only shared by the current management of ministry of the Junín jirón, but has been maintained since the time of former Minister Pedro Francke, according to sources close to the sector. However, as has been evidenced, the will of the FEM has been bent.
After a few hours of this meeting, in which the Minem delegation was also present, the members of the Petroperú board, including Hugo Chávez -who is also the general manager-, There came a time when the atmosphere became heated, with a confrontation of positions and even raised voices, According to sources from the Executive commented to this medium.
It was at that moment, according to reports, that a call from the Government Palace interrupted the meeting and expressed full support for Hugo Chávez. After this, the session of the General Meeting of Shareholders of Petroperú was adjourned.
This would not be surprising, since Chávez himself in various journalistic appearances has stated that he has the support of President Pedro Castillo. In an interview with a local media, the former minister of the sector Iván Merino He acknowledged having received pressure to place Chávez in the general management of Petroperú. Not accepting this imposition cost him the position, as narrated.
“It is a shame of others what is being observed with the shareholders’ meeting, which is more perceived by the credit rating agencies. They forget that classifiers and bondholders see this unpresentable ping-pong, ”Merino said yesterday through his social networks.
The truth is that, at the close of this report, there is no record of the JGA With the agreements made that day, meanwhile several additional seasons await this series to the extent that the problem with the audit of the financial statements persists and everything indicates that Petroperú could continue to receive reductions in its rating.
Joined. Hugo Chávez, Carlos Palacios, Rafael Reyes and Wider Herrera a week ago at the Minem. Photo: diffusion
Modern subjection act
Minem intends that the MEF provide absolute support to Petroperú, something that given the facts would not happen and would trigger a new crisis in the Executive.
PMRT debt equals 2% of GDP
It is important to highlight that the debt committed with bonds and syndicated credit that Petroperú took for the Talara Refinery Modernization Project (PMRT) is US$ 4,300 million.
This is equivalent to 2 points of GDP that, in case Petroperú falls into default, will have to be assumed as public debt, that is, be honored by the State.
The data
Concern. “With respect to Petroperu, It is a tax issue that I do not want to comment on, there is really no explicit guarantee. The bondholders have bought knowing that there is no explicit guarantee”, expressed yesterday a concerned Julio Velarde, president of the Central Bank.
Source: Larepublica
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