SME Bank sell-off process finalised

Chief Executive Officer of SME Bank Ihsan ul Haq Khan Tuesday said that the government has finalised the process for the privatisation of Small & Medium Enterprises Bank. While briefing the sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) here, Khan said the bank was established in 2005 during Pervez Musharraf regime to support small & medium enterprises but after one year of its establishment, it was placed on the list of privatisation.
The meeting was held in the chairmanship of Sardar Ashiq Hussain Gopang and was attended by MNAs Dr Arif Alvi and Shahida Akhtar Ali, besides senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Auditor General of Pakistan. The panel was further informed that bank suffered heavy financial losses and couldn't fulfil the objectives for which it was created. The CEO said that in 2014 the bank was facing financial losses of Rs 400 million per year which now have been reduced to Rs 200 million.
The committee also supported the idea of privatising the SME Bank and directed the authorities concerned to privatise it as early as possible. The committee was informed that the bank has a total of 13 branches. The committee also expressed serious concerns over massive irregularities in Zarai Taraqqiati Bank Limited and directed the administration to make all possible efforts in recovering the outstanding loans against various clients since 1990s. The bank management and the Ministry of Finance informed the committee that all-out efforts are being made to recover stalled amount.
The committee also directed the concerned quarters not to sell official vehicles to government officials at throwaway prices, instead if any official at the time of retirement wants to take the vehicle, it should be sold at market price.
Moreover the panel directed the officials not to violate set rules and regulations in hiring necessary staff for any public sector entity. The panel was shocked to learn the during budget days, the government has been spending multimillion rupees on entertainment expenditures since 2003 and these expenditures include three-time meals for journalists, parliamentarians and other staff.
Acting Secretary Ministry of Finance Shujaat Ali said that it is not mandatory but a tradition started in 2003, adding that in 2009 on this head total expenditures for three weeks crossed Rs 11.5 million but now the government has reduced them. The meeting was informed that an amount of Rs 29.8 billion was paid to various oil marketing companies (OMCs) during 2008-09 on account of price differential claims. The secretary finance while explaining the phenomenon said that during 2004-08, the price of crude oil in international market kept increasing while the government didn't pass on the impact to the end consumers on political basis, as a result the Ministry of Finance paid Rs 29.8 billion to OMCs as subsidy. Scrutiny of record of subsidy paid to petroleum companies/OMCs revealed that the following amounts were released to petroleum companies/OMCs during 2008-09 on provisional basis; Rs 11.42 billion to Pakistan State Oil, Rs 4.33 billion to Shell Pakistan Limited, Rs 2.05 billion to Attock Petroleum, Rs 6.11 billion to Caltex, Rs 2.11 billion to Total Parco, Rs 159 million to Admore, Rs 96 million to Overseas Oil Trading Company, Rs 215 million to Pakistan Refinery Limited, Rs 521 million to National Refinery Limited, Rs 294 million to Bosicor, Rs 73 million to Bakri Trading, Rs 1.67 billion to PARCO, Rs 8 million to Bosicor Refinery Limited, Rs 423 million to Hascombe Storage, Rs 221 million to Pak Arab Pipeline and Rs 105 million to Asia Petroleum Limited.
The Finance Division made payment on provisional basis in the national interest. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources is the administrative ministry of oil industry. Subsidy was paid to petroleum companies during 2009-10 on provisional basis on the recommendation of Ministry of P&NR/Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) which maintained audited/verified claims of OMCs/refineries regularly.