Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has urged Privatisation Commission for timely completion of privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and other transactions on the list. Sources said that a meeting on privatisation of state owned entities (SOEs) was chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday; however, a press statement in this regard was issued on Tuesday.
In the meeting, the Finance Ministry was given a briefing by the Chairman Privatisation Commission Mohammad Zubair on the status of the ongoing privatisation transactions of Pakistan Steel Mills, SME Bank and other SOEs. Sources said the government plans to privatise PSM, Mari Petroleum Company Limited, SME Bank and Industrial Development Bank Limited (IDBL). The government intends to complete the privatisation of SME Bank in the current fiscal year and required work on transaction structure by the financial advisor is said to be in process that will be presented to the PC Board for approval before going for advertisement to invite the expression of interests.
The expected date for privatisation of the PSM is June 2017 and as soon as transaction is finalised, it would also be placed before the PC Board for clearance before taking to Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) for approval. The government is also planning to privatise the Industrial Development Bank Ltd (IDBL) by end-September 2017 and an advertisement inviting expressions of interest from financial advisors would be published by the start of January 2017.
The government also plans to divest its shareholding in Mari Gas Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) in 2017. The Finance minister stated that the government is working to reduce the burden of loss-making SOEs on the exchequer by taking decision of their privatisation and restructuring. Dar urged the Privatisation Commission to complete the ongoing transactions in a timely manner whilst ensuring compliance with the applicable laws and regulations. The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and Privatisation Commission.
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