Pakistan Post: Govt to discard selloff plan

Post bank to be set up with the help of SME Bank licence.

ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission (PC) and Pakistan Post have reached a settlement over the thorny issue of the latter’s privatisation and it is expected that the government will utilise a licence of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Bank for the establishment of a post bank, sources say. According to documents available with The Express Tribune, the PC and Pakistan Post have agreed that the postal company will not be privatised and just the Pakistan Post Bank will be set up as per the decision of the cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee.

This was decided in a meeting attended by the director general of Pakistan Post, additional directors general, PC junior consultant and others, sources said.

During the meeting, representatives of the postal service suggested that the government should scrap corporatisation plans for Pakistan Post, which was also on the agenda of the upcoming PC Board meeting. Instead, they asked the PC to include on the agenda a plan to add value to the service by establishing a post bank.

They made the suggestion in the wake of widespread protests against privatisation by employees of the company over the past few days.

In response, PC representatives agreed on making changes to the agenda of the PC Board meeting. According to sources, the PC consultant said that the commission will consult the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for utilising the licence of SME Bank for establishing the post bank.

Participants of the meeting agreed that Pakistan Post, being a major stakeholder, will play a key role in the setting up of the post bank.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2011.