Brazil Considers Lifting Limits On Airline Ownership - Report

The Brazilian government is considering removing limits to the foreign ownership of local airlines to attract investment to the struggling sector, Valor Economico reported on Monday.

President Dilma Rousseff is also contemplating opening up the capital of Infraero, the state-run company that controls most of Brazil's airports, Valor said, without citing sources.

The proposed legislation would give the president power to allow foreign investors to have total ownership of a Brazilian airline, the paper reported.

Foreign groups are only allowed to hold up to 20 percent in local carriers under existing rules.

For years, the Brazilian government has flirted with the idea of changing airline ownership rules, but a severe crisis in the sector exacerbated by a deep recession, is adding pressure on policymakers to remove limits.