PC board refuses to delay privatisation of three firms.

Byline: Shahbaz Rana

ISLAMABAD -- The Privatisation Commission (PC) board on Tuesday rejected proposals of putting privatisation of three companies, part of the active programme, on the back burner as the government faced hurdles in the way of selling its stakes in eight enterprises.

Headed by Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Mian Soomro, the board reviewed proposals seeking delay in privatisation of Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL), Lakhra Coal Development Company, Services International Hotel and First Women Bank Limited (FWBL).

Privatisation Commission officials told The Express Tribune that the board agreed to put on hold only the Lakhra company's privatisation due to legal and administrative issues.

Relevant ministries were reluctant to support privatisation of MPCL, FWBL and Services International Hotel. This indicates the opposition to privatisation from within the government. The board approved changes to PC regulations, most notably allowing the hiring of financial advisers on a single source basis.

The four companies are among the eight public sector enterprises that the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) in October this year shortlisted for privatisation in the first phase. The CCOP picked these entities out of the 62 originally approved by the Council of Common Interests the highest constitutional body.

After coming to power, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government decided to restrict the privatisation programme and removed entities like Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan Railways from the privatisation list. All these enterprises were consuming huge state funds every year, but the government opted to keep running them.

MPCL

The board considered the request of the Ministry of Energy that recommended the removal of MPCL from the privatisation programme, terming it a 'well-managed asset', according to officials.

The energy ministry took the position that being a strategic investor, the government should not privatise MPCL that gave Rs330 million in dividend over the last three years. The ministry argued that dividend distribution was capped at 45% till June 2024 and once the ceiling was removed the dividend could increase to Rs290 million per annum.

However, the board decided to go ahead with the divestment plan as it was one of the three enterprises that could fetch handsome proceeds. The officials have estimated proceeds of roughly Rs30 billion by divesting 18.4% of government...