Pakistan’s privatisation chief, Muhammad Ali, announced on Monday that the government plans to finalize the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by the end of this year, as part of an extensive new privatisation initiative backed by what he described as “the highest level of commitment.”
“We are aiming to privatise PIA before the year’s end,” Ali said at a press conference, where he was joined by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and other members of the economic team.
Ali affirmed the government’s resolve to expedite the process, noting that it is recruiting sector experts, lawyers, mergers and acquisitions specialists, and investment bankers to ensure smooth transactions.
He said the government had divided the process to privatise state-owned entities into three phases, adding that it had completed all three. Ali said the government was working on several transactions at a time, explaining that it had to consider the market, investors’ appetites, their interest and the health of the companies at stake.
“Keeping all these things in mind, we are working on privatisation as fast as we can, at full speed,” he said.
Ali mentioned that the government had sold the state-owned First Women Bank to a UAE group for Rs5 billion [$17.5 million], which had a total equity of Rs3 billion [$10.5 million].
The official spoke of the government’s privatisation efforts regarding the state-owned House Building Finance Corporation, saying its privatisation process had been underway for the past two years. He disclosed that the government was in discussions with an entity regarding its sale.
“We are getting offers from them. This is a negotiated sale,” Ali said. “And if we get our valuation in this, then we will go ahead in this.”
Source: Dunya News