Latest news with #Antaq
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil judge rejects Maersk request to alter $1 billion port auction
By Luciana Magalhaes SAO PAULO (Reuters) -A Brazilian judge has rejected a request by Danish shipping group Maersk to suspend a bidding process for the Tecon 10 terminal at Brazil's Port of Santos pending its call for a review to allow firms already operating there into the first phase. Maersk filed a lawsuit last month against Brazil's marine transport authority (Antaq), calling for corrections to the bidding process to build and run the new megaterminal at Latin America's largest port, as first reported by Reuters. Incumbent companies are barred from the first round of bidding for the contract for the terminal, which is expected to require 5.6 billion reais ($1.0 billion) of investment. Judge Paulo Cezar Neves Junior said he did not see any illegality in the way the marine authority designed the auction and noted that Brazil's federal audit court is also analyzing the bidding process. He therefore denied Maersk's injunction request, citing the absence of an imminent risk that would warrant judicial intervention. In a statement, Maersk said on Wednesday that the ruling, issued on Tuesday, referred to a request for a new public consultation and did not cover its questions over the guidelines barring incumbent operators from the auction's first phase. The company said it would consider an appeal and other "appropriate measures". According to the current bidding rules, if no valid proposals are received in the first phase of the auction, operators of existing container terminals at Santos can bid in subsequent rounds, provided they divest their other holdings in the port complex. The marine authority did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The restrictions clear the path for new companies, including Asian rivals or local players such as JBS Terminais, the recently established port operating unit of Brazilian meatpacker JBS. JBS Terminais declined to comment on the matter.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maersk sues over $1 billion Brazil port auction, MSC Group's TIL may follow
(Refiles to fix typo in headline) SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Global shipping groups are looking to Brazil's courts to overturn competition rules that bar them from participating in the first round of bidding on a major new container terminal at Latin America's largest port, due to take place later this year. Danish shipping group Maersk filed a lawsuit on Monday in Sao Paulo against Brazil's marine transport authority (Antaq), and its general director, according to a document seen by Reuters. The lawsuit called for "procedural corrections to ensure a fair process" to assign the Tecon 10 terminal at the Port of Santos. The bidding rules, defined by Antaq, are under review by Brazil's federal audit court (TCU). The privately held MSC Group is also hoping for a change in the rules. Patricio Junior, regional investment director at MSC's subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited, said TIL is considering a lawsuit if the TCU does not impose changes to the process. The auction rules would bar Maersk, MSC and other operators of existing container terminals at Santos from the first round of bidding to build and run the new megaterminal, expected to require 5.6 billion reais ($1.0 billion) of investment. That may open the door for Asian rivals or a local player such as JBS Terminais, the new port operating unit of Brazilian meatpacker JBS, which took over a container terminal at Itajaí, in southern Brazil, last year. JBS declined to comment. Antaq, which has billed Tecon 10 as the biggest port auction in Brazil's history, said its bidding rules are meant to promote competition. The agency said it had not yet been officially notified about the lawsuit and reiterated that the process is currently with the TCU, awaiting a decision. If no valid proposals are received in the first phase of the auction, Antaq said operators of existing container terminals at Santos can bid in subsequent rounds, provided they divest their other holdings in the port complex. Maersk declined to comment on the lawsuit, but called for a more transparent process to guarantee fair competition. "Excluding companies with broad international experience, responsible for managing some of the most efficient ports globally, without thorough studies to support such a decision, significantly diminishes the project's potential at Latin America's largest port," Maersk said in a statement. Some heavy users of the Santos port infrastructure also voiced concerns about the rules constraining who can bid for Tecon 10. Eduardo Heron, technical director of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council, said the group is advocating for "broad and unrestricted participation." ($1 = 5.511 reais) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Maersk sues over $1 billion Brazil port auction, TIL's MSC Group may follow
By Luciana Magalhaes SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Global shipping groups are looking to Brazil's courts to overturn competition rules that bar them from participating in the first round of bidding on a major new container terminal at Latin America's largest port, due to take place later this year. Danish shipping group Maersk filed a lawsuit on Monday in Sao Paulo against Brazil's marine transport authority (Antaq), and its general director, according to a document seen by Reuters. The lawsuit called for "procedural corrections to ensure a fair process" to assign the Tecon 10 terminal at the Port of Santos. The bidding rules, defined by Antaq, are under review by Brazil's federal audit court (TCU). The privately held MSC Group is also hoping for a change in the rules. Patricio Junior, regional investment director at MSC's subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited, said TIL is considering a lawsuit if the TCU does not impose changes to the process. The auction rules would bar Maersk, MSC and other operators of existing container terminals at Santos from the first round of bidding to build and run the new megaterminal, expected to require 5.6 billion reais ($1.0 billion) of investment. That may open the door for Asian rivals or a local player such as JBS Terminais, the new port operating unit of Brazilian meatpacker JBS, which took over a container terminal at Itajaí, in southern Brazil, last year. JBS declined to comment. Antaq, which has billed Tecon 10 as the biggest port auction in Brazil's history, said its bidding rules are meant to promote competition. The agency said it had not yet been officially notified about the lawsuit and reiterated that the process is currently with the TCU, awaiting a decision. If no valid proposals are received in the first phase of the auction, Antaq said operators of existing container terminals at Santos can bid in subsequent rounds, provided they divest their other holdings in the port complex. Maersk declined to comment on the lawsuit, but called for a more transparent process to guarantee fair competition. "Excluding companies with broad international experience, responsible for managing some of the most efficient ports globally, without thorough studies to support such a decision, significantly diminishes the project's potential at Latin America's largest port," Maersk said in a statement. Some heavy users of the Santos port infrastructure also voiced concerns about the rules constraining who can bid for Tecon 10. Eduardo Heron, technical director of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council, said the group is advocating for "broad and unrestricted participation." ($1 = 5.511 reais) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
