Photo: Cléber de Paula/BNDES
Photo: Cléber de Paula/BNDES
GMB - What is BNDES feeling after the conclusion of the LOTEX concession process and what does the bank highlight of its participation?
Guilherme Albuquerque - The feeling is of duty accomplished, mission delivered. It is a project that was not easy, it is a new extraction, green feed project, without any comparison in Brazil. We did a study and turned it over to the government, and although we had two deserted auctions in the past, we didn't change the study's premises, we stayed with our technical assessment. So, it's a good day, with the process finished, and we are happy for that.
What is the importance of having the two largest lottery operators in the world as auction winners?
We managed to attract the two largest companies. This shows the potential of the Brazilian market and also the transparency and seriousness of the process, with the companies having believed in investing in a country of our size and not in a trivial operation, an easy one. So, we can say that having these operators here is very important.
If you could list in difficulty, what would you choose as the main challenge for BNDES in this whole process of LOTEX?
The bank's work is eminently technical, so I think the challenge here on our side was the lack of comparisons within the country. There are no instant lottery markets the size of Brazil for mature comparisons. So, for us, to estimate all the assumptions was a big challenge.
What work will BNDES still do in this bidding process now that the winners are already known?
From the formal point of view, the bank's work ends in the approval of the bidding. Now we will make the evaluation of the envelopes and all the documentation required by the announcement, and then the work ends after the approval of this bid.
In this next period of construction of the product until the beginning of sales, can BNDES assist the companies that win the process?
The mandate we were working on now was the structuring of the project and it ends with the approval of the project. So that's just what we have today in concrete.
Source: Exclusive GMB
