Loans worth billions waived in past 30 years

Private companies got Rs50b written off over 30-year period

ISLAMABAD: During the last 30 years, hundreds of private companies have got their bank loans –exceeding Rs50 million – waived while only in the last three years of the incumbent government, banks have written off loans of more than Rs280 billion, documents submitted in the Senate revealed on Friday.

In response to a question posed by Senator Azam Swati, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a written reply suggested that some 400 corporate enterprises had got their loans written off in the last 30 years



The documents revealed during the tenure of the incumbent PML-N government, loans exceeding Rs280 million were written off – Rs270 billion in 2015, Rs4.4 billion in 2014 and Rs6 billion in 2013.

Pertinent details suggest that a company M Younas Habib got a loan amounting to Rs2,476.397 million written off by Habib Bank Limited (HBL) in 1997 and Younas Habib is the directors/partners/ proprietors of the company.

Mian Textile Industries Limited got a total of Rs404.464 million bank loan of the United Bank Limited waived in 1997. Mian Muhammad Jahangir, Mian Khurshid Ahmed and Mian Waheed Ahmed are directors/partners/proprietors (DPP) of this company.

Golden Textile Mill (Hassan Ali Chatoor) got a loan of Rs589.718 waived in 2002. This loan was also taken from the UBL.

Punjab Transport Corporation also got Rs524.145 million of UBL loan waived in 2002 while Mehr Dastagir Spinning Mill Limited (Khawaja Muhmmad Yousaf, DPP) got Rs1,160.560 million of loan from the same bank written off in 2005. The UBL also waived a total of Rs1,116.774 million loan of Redco Textile Limited (Saifur Rehman Khan as DPP) in 2006.



Mohib Textile Mill (Pvt) Limited in 2002 got written off a total of Rs1,117.489 million loan taken from the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). Asif Saigol, Arif Saigol, Abid Saigol, Shahzad Saigol, Shahid Saigol, Shafiq Saigol Jr and Sarwar Ali have been mentioned as the directors/partners/ proprietors of the company.

The NBP in 2003 also wrote off Rs1,387.595 million loan outstanding against Spinning Machinery Company of Pakistan.

Saadi Cement Limited also got written off an NBP loan of Rs1,265.969 million in 2004. Zaheer Mustafa Jaleel, Farrukh Waqaruddin Junaidi and some other person are mentioned as directors/partners/ proprietors of the company.

Siraj Steel Limited got written off in 2006 an NBP loan amounting to Rs1,412.662 million. Chaudhry Qasim and a few others have been stated as directors/partners/ proprietors of the company.

In 2008 the NBP also waived Pakistan National Textile Mill’s loan amounting to Rs1,166.543 million. The documents carry the names of Agha Tajammal Hussain and some others as directors/partners/ proprietors of the company.

Abdullah Apparels got Rs154 billion written off, Raksons Engineers got Rs53 billion written off, Khayaban Ghee Mills Rs52 million, MSC Textile Rs1.4 billion written off [in 2015].



Crescent Industrial Chemicals got Rs1.2 billion written off in 2013, Mehr Dastagir Spinning Mills Ltd Rs1.1 billion in 2005 and Redco Textiles Limited  and Eurogulf Enterprises got waived respectively Rs1.1 billion and Rs5.3 billion in 2006. Chaudhry Cables Pvt Ltd got Rs1 billion written off in 2008.

Other companies

Karachi Properties Investment got Rs1 billion written off, Mercury Garment Industries Rs1.56 billion, Siraj Steels Limited Rs1.4 billion, Spinning Machinery Company Rs1.4 billion, Saadi Cement Rs1.26 billion, Mohib Textile Mills (Pvt) Ltd Rs1.1 billion, Quality Steel Works Rs981 million, Kohinoor Looms Limited Rs945 million.

Qurel Cassete Limited got Rs901 million waived, Metropolitan Steel Corporation Limited Rs747 million, First Tawakkal Modaraba Rs628 million, Mekran Fisheries Ltd Rs960 million, AH International Pvt Ltd Rs901 million, Golden Textile Mills Ltd Rs589 million, Punjab Road Transport Corporation Rs524 million.

Pakistan Fertiliser Company managed to get Rs324 million waived, Fateh Textile Mills Limited Rs353 million, Pakland Cement Ltd Rs377 million,  Oberoi Textile Mills Limited Rs261 million, Ruby Rice Mills Rs128 million, Pride Spinning Mills Rs258 million, Khairpur Textile Mills Rs146 million, Adamjee Industries Rs449 million, National Garments (Pvt) Ltd Rs335 million, Glamour Textile Mills Ltd Rs534 million.

Sahaf Corporation (Pvt) Ltd got written off Rs146 million, Anoud Textile Mills Rs279 million, Allied Textile Mills Rs297 million, Bannu Sugar Mills (Pvt) Ltd Rs250 million, Punjab Corporation Rs360 million, N&E Importers Ltd Rs199 million, Al-Vera Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd Rs192 million, Gadoon Synthetics Rs230 million, Pakistan Concrete Rs477 million, Consolidated Spinning Rs283 million, Ali Asbestos Ind. Limited Rs375 million, Larkana Woollen Mills Ltd Rs 331 million.

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported that the present government waived off loans from banks in the last three years. The government has no role in writing off any loans.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2016.