State bought CTT shares

The Portuguese public holding company Parpública purchased shares in the privatised postal service company CTT on the government’s orders it was revealed this week by Jornal Económico.

The holding that controls State-owned companies had a “secret” share in CTT that was never divulged to the market or even mentioned on the postal service’s annual reports.
The purchase took place after the left-wing Bloco de Esquerda party with which the PS socialist government of António Costa formed a coalition government and was a concession in order for the coalition party to approve the State Budget in 2021.
The BE had demanded a reversal in the privatisation of CTT, similar to what had happened in companies like TAP and Carris. Faced with the demand, the government committed itself to buy a public share in the postal and financial services company by secretly buying shares on the market through Parpública with a purchase order signed by the then Finance minister João Leão (2020-2022).
The process was meant to be gradual and overtime create a significant shareholding by the State in the company’s capital, but the fall of the government at the end of 2021 with the failure to pass the State Budget 2022 brought the secret operation to an end when the PS party won an absolute majority in the general election. Now the State holds less than 2% in the private postal service.