Brazil to open airlines, land to foreign buyers

President Michel Temer will propose legislation to lift restrictions on foreign ownership of airlines and agricultural land in Brazil as he strives to pull the economy out of a two-year recession, government sources said on Monday.

Temer's center-right government plans to send Congress a bill allowing 100 percent foreign ownership of airlines, though investors will be obliged to help expand regional flight services, two sources said. The government will soon propose a bill lifting a ban on foreign investors buying agricultural land in Brazil, on the condition that 10 percent of any purchase is destined to land reform to benefit landless farmers and peasants, said a presidential aide who was not authorized to speak on the matter.

Foreign companies currently can hold up to a 20 percent stake in Brazilian airlines. U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc has 9.48 percent of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Brazil's largest domestic airline. Counting international routes, the main airline operating in Brazil is TAM, which merged with Santiago, Chile-based Latam Airlines Group SA to become Latin America's largest carrier. Two other carriers, Avianca Brasil and Azul Linhas Aereas, are controlled by foreign owners with Brazilian citizenship.