World News | Pak Privatisation Minister Says PIA Would Be Privatised in Next Three Months
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Pakistan's minister for privatisation said on Thursday that the national flag-carrier would be privatised during the next three months, following a failed attempt to sell it last year.
Islamabad, Mar 6 (PTI) Pakistan's minister for privatisation said on Thursday that the national flag-carrier would be privatised during the next three months, following a failed attempt to sell it last year.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been running into losses and the government as part of reforms urged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in April 2024 that it was putting on the block its stake, ranging from 51 to 100 per cent.
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However, no serious buyer made the bid when the final effort was made in October last year and the only offer of Pakistani Rs 10 billion by a local real estate developing company was rejected by the government.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation was informed on February 26 this year that the failed first attempt to privatise PIA cost the national exchequer USD 4.3 million.
The privatisation ministry in a press release quoted Minister Abdul Aleem Khan as saying that a new roadmap was being provided to make PIA's privatisation more attractive, adding, “It is expected that all stages of this privatisation process will be completed within the next three months.”
He said all concerns of the parties interested in PIA's privatisation process were addressed properly and consequently, the government decided to make changes according to the preferences of the interested parties for its privatisation.
The minister also said that the PIA possessed the potential to become profitable and expressed hope that the privatisation process would become more feasible, which would positively impact the overall process.
“There is an expectation of better expressions of interest from investors this time around, as the introduction of PIA flights to Europe has made the privatisation environment even more lucrative and favourable,” the minister said.
He said that due to recent measures, the national airline is ready to become profitable again and added that after Europe, flights to the UK would begin within the next three months.
He asserted that PIA's credibility would be restored and the airline would be brought back to its peak with positive steps.
Despite the claim by the minister, it was not clear how the government would find a serious buyer this time when it could not get one last year.
The latest bid to offload the loss-making state-owned enterprise came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the Cabinet on Tuesday that they were making a whopping Pakistani Rs 850 billion loss annually, terming them “bottomless pits”, which needed to be addressed. PTI SH
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)