Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been invited to a dinner hosted by ICTSI chief executive Enrique Razon Jr. during his state visit to the Philippines, where business leaders are expected to discuss trade and the planned Tecon 10 terminal at the Port of Santos. (Foto: Instagram)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been invited to a dinner hosted by Enrique Razon Jr., chief executive of port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), during Lula’s state visit to the Philippines. Razon is interested in Brazilian government plans to expand the capacity of the Port of Santos, and the gathering is seen as an opportunity for Filipino business leaders investing in Brazil to meet the president.
The dinner is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, Nov. 14, at the end of Lula’s state visit and on the eve of his participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Brazilian and Filipino businesspeople have also been invited. Lula’s attendance has not been confirmed; people familiar with his plans said it depends on whether the event fits his schedule.
Forbes ranked Razon as the Philippines’ richest person in August, estimating his fortune at $21 billion, or about 115.7 billion Brazilian reais at the exchange rate cited in the report. He has been seeking an opportunity to meet Lula to discuss Tecon 10, a planned auction for a major new container terminal expected to increase the Port of Santos’ capacity. Other major port companies, including Denmark’s Maersk and MSC, which is linked to a European business group, are also interested in the tender.
Lula is scheduled to be in Antalya, Turkey, from Nov. 10 to 12, with the COP31 climate conference as the main purpose of that leg of his trip. He is also due to attend events there on forests and civil society participation. Afterward, he will make a state visit to the Philippines and attend the 49th ASEAN Summit, with the visit intended to strengthen trade ties between the countries. A business forum in the Philippines is expected to include at least 113 Brazilian companies from various sectors, as well as Filipino firms.
ICTSI, considered one of the world’s largest port operators, already operates Rio Brasil Terminal and the Port of Suape in Pernambuco state. The company is seeking to expand its operations in Brazil and is among the companies watching the Tecon Santos 10 auction. Santos is Brazil’s main port and one of Latin America’s largest, but the bidding process has encountered disputes over how the auction should be structured.
The bidding model is under discussion at Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts, according to information from the court. An unnamed source there said the matter would return to the court for review of the auction notice once the model is settled. The format has become a point of contention among interested companies and within the federal government. Brazil’s National Waterway Transportation Agency had initially proposed restricting companies that already own terminals in Santos, including Maersk and MSC, which jointly own Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP) there.
Under the proposed arrangement, the two companies notified Brazil’s antitrust regulator, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense, that if one won the Tecon 10 auction, the other would sell its stake in BTP, potentially allowing the winner to participate. ICTSI opposes the proposal and also brought the matter to the regulator. The issue has reportedly caused friction at the presidential palace: Lula is said to have called for an open auction without restrictions on companies already operating in the market, a position at odds with the transportation agency and the Ministry of Ports and Airports. The dispute has delayed publication of the auction, which had been planned for 2025.
