Contradicting media reports, Brazil’s Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said on Friday that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has never engaged in discussions about the CEO succession at mining company Vale.
Reuters and other news outlets reported last week that Lula wanted former Finance Minister Guido Mantega to be appointed to a board seat at the mining giant or even as its chief executive.
Vale’s share price dropped in reaction to the reports.
Silveira’s comments to journalists on Friday followed a report from newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo saying Mantega would release a letter dropping out of the race for a potential role at Vale.
Mantega could not be immediately reached for comments.
Silveira added Lula would never interfere in a publicly traded company. The minister denied any personal involvement in a government recommendation about who should sit on Vale’s board.
(By Andre Romani, Marcela Ayres and Maria Carolina Marcello; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Cynthia Osterman)
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