The concessions will bring $ 1,000 million in 2019

Ecuadortimes:

The operations will take place in the road, energy and real estate fields. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) accompanies the analysis of monetization of State assets.

The budgetary pro forma 2019 contemplates a new item of income that was not included in the corresponding for this year. They are $ 1,000.12 million that would enter the Treasury by concessions.

Since September, the Government has been working with a team from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in a process of monetization of state assets. The Minister of Economy and Finance, Richard Martinez, informed that the international organization has determined that $ 7,000 million could be received by Ecuador for these operations in the field of roads, real estate, energy, among others.

Although the IDB estimated that in 2019 the concessions would mean $ 3,000 million, the Finance portfolio prefers to remain cautious and have a lower figure for next year. To finalize this process, a support unit will be created within the ministry with international experts who will design a catalog with the economic and legal specifications and then present it to potential investors, explained Martínez.

The level of transparency, competitiveness and salaries in each public company is studied. The analysis is not simple since there are institutions that do not have their audited balance sheets. Fabián Carrillo, Vice Minister of Finance, added that private investment is being sought to join the public to maintain its infrastructure and increase its production.

Transparency and clear objectives will give credibility to these concessions and to the proforma, considers Santiago García, professor of the Faculty of Economics of the Central University of Ecuador, who observes viable revenues of $ 1,000 million. He hopes that it does not happen like in previous years when the processes were not known and that many, like the hydroelectric Sopladora, did not come to fruition.

Finance did not detail the companies to be approved. However, in an interview on Radio Democracia on October 24, President Lenín Moreno’s adviser, Santiago Cuesta, announced that these companies would be CNT, Seguros Sucre, Empresa Electrica and the Monteverde gas plant “that will bring in revenues of $ 25,000 and $ 30,000 million.”

In April of this year the Government announced an optimization program for 22 public companies with what is expected to save $ 350 million annually until 2021. According to the Public Expenditure Observatory, these companies reported losses in 2017 $ 86.17 million when they had $ 474.98 million in transfers from the public sector. In addition, work is being carried out to optimize internal public companies with measures such as salary homologation between these and other State entities.

Martinez said that the process seeks greater equity in the public sector because on average the salary in a public company is 40% higher than the rest of institutions. The type of activity will be taken into account since the oil sector, for example, requires capturing talent with competitive salaries to avoid migration to the private sector, he said.

This week, a delegation of the IDB will announce the results of a comparison between the Ecuadorian parameters for hiring in public companies and those implemented by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group to which Ecuador aspires to enter.

The economist Eduardo Valencia considers that at the level of public companies there is a greater margin of cut, especially in the highest positions of the same. However, in general, it recognizes the “attempts” to reduce the deficit and current expenditure.

The budget proposal was sent on October 31 to the National Assembly with an estimate of $ 31,318 million for next year. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/concesiones-traeran-millones-2019