Latest news with #PrivatisationCommission
Business Recorder
19 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
PIACL shares along with management control: Eight potential buyers submit EOIs to PC
ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission (PC) has announced receiving Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from eight potential buyers for Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL) shares alongwith its management control. The commission had EOIs for divestment of 51 to 100 percent share capital of PIACL together with management control. On Thursday, 19th June 2025 was the last day for submission of Statement of Qualifications (SOQs) in connection with the 2nd attempt for the Divestment of PIACL. The Privatisation Commission received EOIs from the following eight interested parties: (1) Consortium comprising Lucky Cement Limited, Hub Power Holdings Ltd, Kohat Cement Company Ltd and Metro Ventures (Private) Ltd; (2) Consortium comprising Arif Habib Corporation Ltd, Fatima Fertilizer Company Ltd, City Schools (Private) Ltd and Lake City Holdings (Private) Ltd; (3) AKD Group; (4) Air Blue Ltd; (5) Consortium comprising Augment Securities & Investments (Private) Ltd and Serene Air (Private) Ltd (Equitas LLC Capital Group); (6) Habib Rafique Engineering (Pvt) Ltd; (7) Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd; (8) Sardar Muhammad Ashraf D Baloch (Pvt) Ltd. Out of the eight interested parties the following five interested parties submitted SOQs by the deadline today: (1) Consortium comprising Lucky Cement Ltd, Hub Power Holdings Limited, Kohat Cement Company Limited and Metro Ventures (Private) Ltd; (2) Consortium comprising of Arif Habib Corporation Ltd, Fatima Fertilizer Company Ltd, City Schools (Private) Ltd and Lake City Holdings (Private) Ltd; (3) Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd; (4) Air Blue; (5) Consortium comprising Augment Securities & Investments (Private) Ltd and Serene Air (Private) Ltd, Bahria Foundation, Mega C&S Holding, Equitas Capital LLC. The SOQs submitted by the parties will be evaluated by the Privatisation Commission against the prequalification criteria and the pre-qualified parties will proceed to the next stage where they will be given access to the virtual data room to undertake buy-side due diligence. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Second PIA privatisation effort moves ahead with five bidders
Listen to article The government's renewed push to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has drawn interest from eight parties, with five formally submitting pre-qualification documents ahead of Thursday's deadline, the Privatisation Commission confirmed. Among those to file documentation is a consortium comprising Lucky Cement, Hub Power Company, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures. A separate group including Arif Habib Corporation, Fatima Fertilizer, The City School, and Lake City Holdings has also expressed interest in acquiring a majority stake in the loss-making national carrier. Airblue and Fauji Fertilizer Company have submitted their documents independently, while expressions of interest were also received from Augment Securities, Serene Air, Bahria Foundation, Mega Holdings, and Equitas, who have indicated joint intent to participate. Read More: Deadline to bid for PIA extended to June 19 Of the eight interested parties, five met the June 19 submission deadline for pre-qualification. These entities will now be granted access to a virtual data room as part of the next phase of due diligence. The commission said that all submissions will be assessed against pre-defined eligibility and financial criteria. Buy-side due diligence has already commenced, with officials optimistic that the process may attract credible bidders in contrast to previous attempts. This marks the government's second attempt at privatising PIA after a failed bid last year. A 2024 auction had attracted just one bid — Rs10 billion ($36 million) from real estate developer Blue World City for a 60 per cent stake. The offer fell well below the government's floor price of Rs85 billion ($305 million) and was subsequently rejected. Also Read: Govt tightens PIA bidding terms This year, the Privatisation Commission reopened the process in April, inviting expressions of interest from both domestic and international investors for a majority stake ranging from 51 to 100 per cent in PIA. The initial deadline of June 3, 2025 was later extended to June 19 to accommodate prospective buyers. In an effort to ensure only financially viable parties move forward, the government introduced stricter qualification criteria for this round and explicitly barred provincial governments from participating in the bidding. The sale of PIA is expected to be Pakistan's first major privatisation in nearly two decades. Reviving loss-making state-owned enterprises such as PIA is a key structural benchmark under the country's ongoing $7 billion bailout programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
PIA sell-off: Fauji Fertilizer, Air Blue, and 3 consortiums submit Statements of Qualification
As Pakistan government proceeds with a fresh attempt to privatise the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Fauji Fertilizer, Air Blue, and 3 consortiums have submitted the Statements of Qualification (SOQs), showing their interest in acquiring a stake in the national carrier. The development comes as the deadline to submit SoQs for having 51% to 100% share capital of the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL) ended on Thursday. The Privatisation Commission (PC) received Expressions of Interest (EOI) from eight interested parties and five of them submitted SOQs by the deadline. The five interested parties include: Consortium comprising Lucky Cement Limited, Hub Power Holdings Limited, Kohat Cement Company Limited and Metro Ventures (Private) Limited Consortium comprising of Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited, City Schools (Private) Limited and Lake City Holdings (Private) Limited Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited Air Blue Consortium comprising Augment Securities & Investments (Private) Limited and Serene Air (Private) Limited, Bahria Foundation, Mega C&S Holding, Equitas Capital LLC 'The SOQs submitted by the parties will be evaluated by the Privatisation Commission against the prequalification criteria and the prequalified parties will proceed to the next stage where they will be given access to the virtual data room to undertake buy-side due diligence,' the PC said. The government restarted the PIA sale process with fresh EOI call in April this year, marking a renewed effort to offload its stake in the national carrier. It first set June 3 as deadline for EOI submission, but later extended it till June 19, with all terms and conditions remaining the same. It has been seeking to sell a 51-100% stake in the debt-ridden carrier, to raise funds and reform cash-draining state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme (IMF). The government failed in the first attempt to privatise the PIA last year after receiving a single offer, well below the asking price of more than $300 million. Blue World City consortium refused to match the minimum expectation of the Privatisation Commission of Rs85.03 billion and stuck to its original offer of Rs10 billion for a 60% stake in the PIA, ending the bidding process of the national flag carrier's privatisation. With its plan to privatise a number of entities, the government has missed a modest target of collecting Rs30 billion through privatisation proceeds in the outgoing financial year 2024-25.
Business Recorder
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Aurangzeb in UK to woo investors
EDITORIAL: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Muhammad Ali appointed as Advisor to the Prime Minister on Privatisation/Chairman Privatisation Commission with the status of Minister of State on 27 February 2025 are currently on a two-day visit to London to participate in Pakistan Investors Day on 8 May (yesterday). It is relevant to note that the Pakistan army was on high alert since the Pahalgam incident on 22 April this year based on the certitude that Modi's India would attack to deflect criticism for not having the intelligence to forestall the attack. Given that both Aurangzeb and Ali are widely regarded as providing a critical plinth in the existing cordial civilian-military ties, Ali's statement prior to departure, with the Indian attacks on nine sites just hours away - two in Punjab and the rest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir – is baffling: 'this visit reflects Pakistan's forward looking vision. We are here to build trust, forge partnerships, and demonstrate that Pakistan is open for business – with a clear agenda for growth, stability and opportunity.' The Indo-UK free trade agreement reached a day before the attack, three years in the making, nonetheless took a distant second place to the Indian attack on Pakistan. The Pakistan Investors Day conference on the other hand, where the focus would be on luring foreign investors to Pakistan, the response is unlikely to be positive or at least not till war has ended. The presence of these two men was required in Pakistan today as an expression of solidarity with the nation in the aftermath of the Indian attack. In addition, the budget exercise is ongoing at present, with credible reports that the International Monetary Fund team is reviewing and dictating expenditure cuts, setting unrealistic revenue targets and upping the administered electricity and gas prices with the objective of achieving full cost recovery, and this is the time when one would have hoped for the Finance Minister's physical presence in the country that would have facilitated his interaction with all sectors. Ali would have been well advised to focus on the privatisation plan particularly of Pakistan International Airlines as he has publicly deferred its privatisation to the last quarter of the current calendar year though the team negotiating with the Fund had pledged it much sooner. Foreign direct investment has been a proactive strategy since June 2023; however, the actual annual foreign direct investment inflow has yet to exceed 1.6 billion dollars according to government data. And while Aurangzeb and Ali are not elected by the people and as such are not technically representatives of the people of this country yet they are appointed at the taxpayers' expense with the objective of serving the people and their absence from the country today does raise uncomfortable questions. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Fresh criteria for pre-qualification: Govt aims to sell 51-100pc stake in PIA
ISLAMABAD: The federal government is hoping to offload 51 to 100 percent shares in Pakistan International Airlines Company Limited (PIACL) in fresh conditions for pre-qualification of bidding process expected to be concluded by next fiscal year. A fresh Expression of Interest (EoI) for the privatisation of PIA has been published with a submission deadline of June 3, 2025. This is the second EoI issued by the current government with assertion of new clauses. A non-refundable fee of Rs1.4 million is required with each application. The privatisation package includes all major business units—passenger services, ground handling, cargo, flight training, flight kitchen, and engineering. Key assets of the airline are also part of the offer. In a media briefing on Thursday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali along with Secretary Privatisation Commission Usman Akhtar Bajwa shared the details of off load of PIA shares, DISCOs and Roosevelt Hotel. No provincial governments or state-owned entities (SOEs) are eligible to take part in PIA bidding process; however, responding to a question, Privatisation Commission Secretary Bajwa said that Fauji Foundation could take part in the bidding as it does not come under SOEs ambit. Responding to question regarding Rs29 billion profit earned by PIA, Muhammad Ali said the equity of PIA had been turned from negative to zero equity, however, PIACL is not a listed company; therefore profit of PIA would be shared after the audit of its accounts. New reference price and size of shares to be off loaded will be determined by Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) in light of transaction structure of the entity. New criteria for pre-qualifications of PIA privatisation: Applicant could be scheduled airline. For non-airlines business, management and operation of a non-airline enterprise(s) for last 10 years with minimum annual revenues of PKR 200 billion or USD 715 million as evidenced by audited financials of December 2023 or later; and minimum annual revenue of Rs100 billion or USD 360 million for each year during the last three years. Applicant shall have (either applicant or consortium, the consortium members (in aggregate) shall have), Rs28 billion or USD 100,000,000 in cash or liquid assets. Applicant has a net worth of at least Rs30 billion or $110,000,000 and if the applicant is a consortium, that the consortium members have an aggregate net worth of at least Rs30 billion or $110,000,000 and the lead consortium member has a net worth of at least Rs8 billion or $ 29 million. Accounts of applicants to be audited by international renowned firm of chartered accountants or Category 'A' or 'B' list of auditors as per SBP's panel of auditors maintained under Section 35(1) of Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 (as amended from time to time). The bank credit reference should include details of the credit lines acquired from the bank, a confirmation that the Applicant (and in the case of a Consortium, each Consortium Member) has consistently paid outstanding bank liabilities in a timely manner, and a verification of the latest Credit Information Bureau (ECIB) status, affirming that the Applicant (and in the case of a Consortium, each Consortium Member) has no history of default or relevant information in case of any default, during the last 10 years. Allowed to be replacement of the lead consortium members at least 15 days prior to bidding, subject to compliance to the requirements of the pre-qualification criteria and RSOQ instructions. The government has already announced a range of incentives which include exemption from the 18 percent general sales tax (GST) on the purchase or lease of new aircraft. Additionally, protection and coverage will be provided in certain tax and legal cases. The move also involves the transfer of specific liabilities listed on PIA's balance sheet, aimed at making the offer more attractive to potential buyers. The 19-story Roosevelt Hotel, located in midtown Manhattan, has been closed since 2020 and is owned by the Roosevelt Hotel Corporation, a subsidiary of PIA. Secretary Privatisation Commission said that the CCoP had directed the PC Board to come up with priority option out of three considered by the forum. The joint venture (JV) with multiple options would be taken at the level of board, he added. The proposed transaction structure for the long-pending divestment of the Roosevelt Hotel, shifting its focus from leasing options to either an outright sale or a JV. The privatisation of DISCOs, it has been said that Power Division will complete its preparations for the privatisation of three power distribution companies (DISCOs) — Hesco, Pesco, and Fesco — and financial adviser would be hired by July 2025. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
