MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peruvian private pension funds purchase Lan Chile shares

The auction was part of the assets divesting process promised by Chilean president elect Piñera

Peruvian Finance Minister Mercedes Araoz welcomed the participation of Peruvian private pension funds, AFP, in Thursday auction of a 6.4% stake (21.83 million shares) of Chilean flagship airline.

“I like the idea that the AFP has begun evaluating the possibility of investing in countries like Chile, this is part of the efforts to expand our capital abroad” she added.

The minister pointed out that there are companies in Peru with sufficient capital to make such investments (purchase of shares) in profitable companies overseas.

”I also want to stress the involvement of AFP in the infrastructure fund promoted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF),” he said.

The Lan shares were sold by Inversiones Santa Cecilia SA, one of Chilean conservative president-elect Sebastian Piñera holding companies.

Piñera, the first Chilean democratically elected conservative president in 52 years, promised to divest himself of his 26% stake in LAN, South America’s leading and most profitable airline, and most of his other holdings before taking office March 11.

A person close to the deal and to Piñera said buyers included local and Peruvian private pension fund managers, other Chilean institutional investors and retail investors.