ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Pakistan’s privatisation chief Muhammad Ali announced on Monday that the government aims to complete the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by the end of this year, part of a sweeping new privatisation programme backed by what he called “the highest level of commitment.”
“We are targeting that we should privatise the PIA before the end of the year,” Ali told reporters at a news conference, flanked by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and other members of the government’s economic team.
Ali vowed that the government was dedicated to completing the privatisation process quickly, stating that it was hiring sector specialists, lawyers, mergers and acquisitions experts and investment bankers to facilitate 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.”