UPDATE 1 — Brazil may offer credit lines to ease impact of tax, labor reforms, minister says

(Updates with details, remark and context in bullets 1-6) SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, Oct 16 (Reuters) — Brazil's Finance Minister Dario Durigan said on Friday that specific credit lines could be unveiled by the government for companies affected by a consumer tax reform and the end of the six-day work schedule, which take effect next year. In an interview with Band TV, Durigan added that the lines would aim to boost training, innovation, and productivity in the country. Durigan spoke two days after Brazil's Senate approved a constitutional amendment to reduce the country's workweek from six days to five. The new rule will take effect by the end of next year after a 14-month transition, while a consumer tax reform approved in 2023 will also take effect in 2027. The minister acknowledged that some companies will be affected by the labor reform, but said he sees the impact as "minor". "Business owners need government support to be part of this new era," Durigan said. He also said that Brazil's high interest rates remain a problem to be tackled if President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wins a new term in an presidential runoff later this month. Lula will face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in a second