ISLAMABAD, July 27: The government Wednesday reviewed the progress made so far in the process for privatization of various state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Federal Minister and Chairman Privatisation Abid Hussain Bhayo chaired the privatisation review meeting.

Federal Secretary Privatisation Dr Irum A. Khan, senior officials and consultants were present.

Bhayo was briefed about the updated status of the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). The minister was apprised that meetings with the pre-qualified parties were underway, as they had started their due-diligence process and on-site visits.

The minister called for resolving all the pending matters for an early revival of the steel mills, as it was one of the biggest entities on the active privatisation list, and had caused huge losses to the national exchequer since 2015. In the review meeting, the transaction status of National Power Parks Management Company (NPPMCL) was also discussed.

The federal minister was informed that a series of meetings with the stakeholders had been held on the debt and equity matters. For that purpose, a plan of action has already been agreed upon regarding debt-refinancing for the plant from local and commercial banks. Once the debt-refinancing and recapitalization is finalized, the sale of equity shares will follow quickly .

The minister also reviewed the privatisation of House Building Finance Corporation Ltd (HBFCL) and First Women Bank Limited (FWBL).

Privatisation of HBFCL will likely be completed in the current financial year, as national and international investors have shown keen interest in it. The EOIs for FWBL will be published after completion of the audit of its financials up to June 2022. Privatisation of DISCOs (power distribution companies) also came under discussion.

The working group formed for revival of the DISCOs has already given its proposals and subsequently the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) has approved the concession model and management contract model for the privatisation of 10 DISCOs.

The role of local and provincial governments for salvaging the DISCOs was also discussed as it has become more crucial after the National Electrical Policy-2021. The federal minister urged all concerned to put concerted efforts for the materialisation of privatisation goals.

Credits: INP-WealthPk