Brazil pension fund Funcef still considering sale of Vale stake

12th June 2018 By: Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian pension fund Funcef is still considering whether to sell its stake in mining company Vale SA but sees no immediate urgency to do so, its director Paulo Werneck said on Tuesday, as funds try to avoid putting pressure on Vale shares.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a conference in Rio de Janeiro, Werneck said Funcef has enough liquidity to cover retirement payments over the next two years.

"We don't need a fire sale," Werneck said.

Funcef, which manages the pensions of workers for state bank Caixa Economica Federal, will also consider which stocks pay larger dividends when choosing stocks from its portfolio it should sell, Werneck said.

Vale said publicly it intends to hand out $1-billion in dividends each quarter this year.

Since Vale unified its outstanding stock into a single class of shares last year, controlling shareholders such as pension funds Previ and Funcef, holding company Bradespar SA and Mitsui & Co are allowed to gradually sell their stakes. The first lock up period ended in February.

Pension funds have been considering this year selling 10% to 12.5% of their stakes in Vale.

But one source with knowledge of the matter said Previ, which manages pensions of workers for state-controlled Banco do Brasil SA and is one of Vale's largest shareholders, is not likely to sell its shares in 2018.