By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Board of the Privatisation Commission on Friday approved the inclusion of a local investment firm in a bidding consortium for Pakistan International Airlines and recommended placing the management of the country’s three main international airports under private control, moving ahead with a long-stalled effort to shrink the state’s role in the economy.
The decisions, taken at a meeting chaired by Muhammad Ali, the adviser to the prime minister on privatisation, also set the terms for the sale of a state-owned mortgage lender through a negotiated deal with a single pre-qualified bidder.
In the flagship airline transaction, the board allowed AKD Group Holdings (Pvt) Ltd to join a group led by Arif Habib Corporation Ltd, one of four consortia cleared to bid for Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Ltd. The addition complies with conditions in the Statement of Qualifications, the commission said in a statement.
Separately, the board proposed to the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation that the operations of airports in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi be offered on a long-term concession basis, a model intended to draw private capital and expertise to upgrade facilities that have long suffered from underinvestment.
For the House Building Finance Company Ltd, the board endorsed a reference price and finalised the Sale Purchase Agreement, documents that will now go to the cabinet committee for approval. The company is being sold to the Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company Ltd, the only bidder pre-qualified after the federal cabinet in July 2023 authorised a negotiated sale.
The Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company’s offer will be opened once the reference price is ratified by the cabinet committee and the full cabinet. The measures are part of a broader government campaign to offload loss-making public enterprises, ease pressure on the budget and signal to international lenders that Islamabad is serious about structural reform.
The Privatisation Commission pledged to accelerate the transactions and overcome previous delays, emphasising transparency and adherence to schedules in order to restore investor confidence. The board’s actions follow months of preparatory work and come as Pakistan negotiates a new loan program with the International Monetary Fund, which has pressed for faster progress on divestments.
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