Prime Minister's Advisor on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has directed the Ministry of Privatisation that timelines set for implementation of privatisation program should be followed in letter and spirit by using formal and informal communication channels, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
These instructions were issued on September 18, 2019 at a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) which were ratified on October 1, 2019 by the Federal Cabinet. According to sources, CCoP on October 31, 2018 approved new privatisation program (ratified by the Federal Cabinet on November 1, 2018) . The CCoP on August 8, 2019 selected 10 Public Sector Entities (PSEs) from the privatisation list approved during the CcoP meeting held on October 31, 2018 for privatisation and to initiate process for hiring of Financial Advisors (FAs) collectively or separately as per legal requirements and submit a compliance report thereon to the CCoP in its next meeting.
In pursuance of the CCoP directions of August 8, 2019, the Privatisation Commission Board on August 26, 2019, after thorough deliberations and discussion approved the following ten PSEs for inclusion in the active privatisation list: (i) Gudu Power Plant(Genco-II); (ii) Nandipur Power Plant (425 MW), Gemco-III); (iii) House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC)); (iv( Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL); (v) Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL); (vi) First Women Bank Limited (FWBL); (vii) Heavy Electric Complex (HEC); (viii) Pakistan Engineering Company (Pepco) and; (ix) Sindh Engineering Limited (SEL); and (x) Pakistan Reinsurance Co. Ltd (Pak Re).
The CCoP also directed to initiate the process of publishing of Expression of Interest (EoI) for hiring Financial Advisors, on case to case basis.
During the ensuing discussion, the Chairman CCoP emphasized the role of Privatisation Commission in overall economic and financial policy framework. He asserted that the Government of Pakistan will provide all possible financial, logistic and human resources assistance to the Privatisation Commission for implementation of the privatisation program.
After a detailed discussion, the CCOP directed the Ministry of Privatisation to follow the timelines of privatisation program and for this purpose use formal and informal channels frequently.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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