Deadline to bid for PIA extended to June 19

ISLAMABAD:

The government extended the deadline for submitting expressions of interest (EoIs) for purchasing the national flag carrier, PIA, by two weeks, the Privatisation Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry did not provide any reason for the extension of deadline from June 3 to June 19. It also did not disclose whether any EoI had been submitted so far for the sale of a 51 to 100% stake in the airlines.

The previous attempt to privatise the debt-ridden airline failed last year when a single bid was received that was well below the asking price of more than $300 million.

In April, the airline reported its first annual profit in more than two decades