Islamabad:- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday announced the privatization of state-owned enterprises (BUMN) and banned strategic companies and said that all entities, whether profitable or unprofitable, will be liquidated.
Shehbaz said the government is concerned about developing investment and business-friendly policies, removing barriers to business expansion and providing a level playing field.
Privatization is one of the key conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose team is now in Islamabad to negotiate a new aid program that Pakistan hopes to secure a bigger and longer-term deal – $6 billion over three to four years. .
He led a meeting where relevant leaders presented the Privatization roadmap for 2024-29 and presented achievements in this process.
The meeting was held to discuss issues related to the Ministry of Privatization and Privatization.
In the briefing, the official said that the initial work on the privatization of PIA will be completed by the end of this month, and said that discussions are underway to divest the New York-based Roosevelt Hotel.
On the other hand, the privatization of the first women’s bank, established in 1988 during the first term of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is said to be a government-to-government deal with the United Arab Emirates.
Currently, the government owns approximately 80 percent of Bank Wanita Pertama, while the rest is owned by various commercial banks.
Meanwhile, electricity distribution companies are also on the list, while loss-making state-owned enterprises will be the first to be privatized, the official said, adding that a team of qualified experts has been created at the Privatization Agency to speed up the process.
Shehbaz said privatization would help save taxpayers’ money, which would help improve services.
At the same time, he said that transparency should be ensured in the privatization process and directed all federal ministries to do the necessary work and extend full cooperation to the Privatization Council.
It also directed officials to broadcast the tender process and other PIA privatization stages on live television and ascertain the situation in other SOEs.
