For someone who lists the presidency of the
Institute for the Development of Eucalyptus Applications on
his CV, Jorge Armindo Teixera is remarkably personable. The
main achievement listed on that CV is his position as the
president and CEO of Portucel - Portugal's leading pulp and
paper manufacturer and the country's best hope for a
privatization in 2003.
And he says he has a vision. "The Portuguese have a problem," he
says. "We think small. We have to challenge ourselves." He's
certainly doing that. Portucel has been on the government's list of
assets to sell since May 2001, in a deal that was scheduled to be
completed by the end of 2002. But bad equity markets and a change
of government have combined to halt those plans, leaving 55.7% of
the firm in state hands. The remainder rests with retail investors
and a 29.2% stake with Sonae, a Portuguese private-equity
investor....
