Roadshows conclude: PSM sell-off to be as per CCoP-approved plan: Soomro

KARACHI: A number of investors from Russia, China, and Korea besides local investors have expressed interest in privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).

Talking to media persons on the last day of the roadshows here on Thursday, federal minister for Privatization, Mohammed Mian Soomro said the process would be undertaken in a very transparent manner as per the approved plan of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP).

He said that roadshows are a very effective way of reaching out to potential investors in an efficient manner, therefore, the Ministry of Privatization initiated a series of roadshows with international and national investors for the revival of PSM. Roadshows for the privatization of PSM were initiated on September 13 and completed on September 23, he maintained.

The government has already invited Expression of Interest (EoI) with the last date of September 30th and a number of renowned national and international investor consortiums from China, Korea and Russia have responded.

“So far, a number of local and foreign investors have shown interest in buying and reviving the country’s largest steel producing plant. Bidding process of PSM would start in this quarter of FY22,” he added.

Soomro said PSM was non-functional since 2015 and the government was keen to revive its operation through privatization. Talking about the PSM employees, he said dues of five thousand PSM employees have already been cleared while salaries are being paid timely to the existing employees.

Regarding the privatization process of other government entities, the minister replied that the government is intended to complete the privatization of about 5 to 6 institutions during this fiscal year. This included National Power Park Management Company (NPPCL), SME Bank, First Women Bank, Pak Reinsurance and Heavy Electrical Complex etc, he added.

Overall, the government is estimating revenue generation of Rs 200 billion through privatization of these institutions, Soomro mentioned.

He informed that for privatization, PSM’s core assets will be transferred to a subsidiary, whose majority shares will be sold without transfer of full ownership. “The federal government wanted to ensure transparency in the privatization process of PSM, which was the reason for the delay of PSM’s privatization,” he added.

Pakistan Steel Mills is non-functional since 2015, and the government has come up with a unique and most feasible transaction structure for the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills, the 51 percent to 74 percent shares of newly carved out subsidiary of PSM namely Steel Corp would be divested through a competitive and transparent bidding process. Prime Minister Imran Khan has also directed to ensure transparency in completion of the privatization process of public entities, including Pakistan Steel Mills.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021