ISLAMABAD
The Privatisation Commission is all set to privatise Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Ltd (PIAC) on December 23 (Tuesday), as only three bidders remain in the race after the exit of Fauji Fertiliser Company Ltd. According to the programme circulated by the Privatisation Commission bids will be submitted between 10:45am and 11:15am, while bids will be opened at 3:30pm, a process that will be shown live on television networks, as decided by the government.
The three bidders are: a consortium comprising Lucky Cement Limited, Hub Power Holdings Limited, Kohat Cement Company Limited, and Metro Ventures (Private) Limited; a consortium comprising Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Fatima Fertiliser Company Limited, City Schools (Private) Limited, and Lake City Holdings (Private) Limited; and Air Blue (Private) Ltd.
Chairman of the Privatisation Commission and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation, Muhammad Ali, said during a YouTube interview that Fauji Fertiliser Company Ltd had decided to quit the bidding process for PIA. Mr Ali explained that on Tuesday, after submission, the sealed bids will be placed in a transparent box, following which the board of the Privatisation Commission will meet and fix the reference price.
Thereafter, the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) will meet and approve the reference price, which will be announced during the opening of the bids. He further explained that if bids are higher than the reference price, there would be an open auction. However, if the bids are less than the reference price, priority will be given to the highest bidder.
About the next step, the adviser said that the federal cabinet will approve the transaction within days, followed by the signing of the documents which the Privatisation Commission has received from the bidders. After the signing of the documents, the commission will have 90 days to fulfill some procedures, including the transfer of properties, liabilities and leased aircraft.
As per the transaction structure, the bidding will be on the basis of a 75 per cent stake in PIA. Out of the 75pc bidding amount, 92.5pc will go to PIA instead of the national exchequer, while only 7.5pc will go to the national exchequer. — DNA
