Cabinet body okays SOE board appointments

The Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) on Monday approved board-level appointments across key public sector entities, including Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), the Port Qasim Authority, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Sindh Engineering Ltd, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) and State Engineering Corporation.

According to a press release issued by the finance ministry, the meeting of the cabinet committee was chaired by Federal Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb and was attended by Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Khalid Hussain Magsi along with secretaries and senior officials.

The committee approved summaries submitted by the Finance Division, Maritime Affairs Division and Petroleum Division. It approved the appointment of an independent director to the board of ZTBL, the appointment of independent directors to the board of Port Qasim Authority and the nomination to fill the casual vacancy on the board of SNGPL.

The committee also approved three summaries of the Industries and Production Division for the constitution of the board of directors of Sindh Engineering (Pvt) Limited, the appointment of a private-sector member from Punjab to the board of Smeda and the constitution of the board of directors of State Engineering Corporation.

Concluding the meeting, the finance minister appreciated the diligence exercised in selecting suitable candidates from the private sector to serve as independent directors, underscoring the importance of continuing the rigorous approach to ensure that individuals with the requisite experience, expertise, knowledge and professional acumen were appointed to the governing boards of these and other state-owned enterprises.