Ruling party speeds up privatisation process
The sources said the government wanted to especially favour some US companies as it was planning to hand over very precious reserves and assets of the oil and gas sector to American companies. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID
In a mad rush to sell off sensitive and important national assets, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has left behind the privatisation zeal of even the Musharraf government.
Its haste is fuelled in part by a desire to please some US friends, according to well-placed sources. Already, fears have been expressed in certain quarters that the unusual haste will have an economic fallout: not only will the shares of these organisatons be lost but the nation will also lose its valuable assets.
According to documents available with Daily Express, the federal government has accepted the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government’s wish-list of state institutions it wants to sell off.
The Council of Common Interests (CCI) had approved 65 organisations for privatisation during the last PPP tenure and the present government has selected 31 organisations out of that list. One notable exception is Pakistan Steel Mills which has been excluded from the plan.
The incumbent government, however, has only got permission from the Privatisation Committee of the Cabinet and not the CCI. A meeting of the Privatisation Commission Board has been called on January 8 to approve the appointment of the financial adviser for privatisation.
The sources said the government wanted to speed up the privatisation process as international bidders were still to be included and the minimum period required for completion of the privatisation process was 18 months.
However, the government wants to complete the process for the important organisations like Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) in just nine months. The sources said the government wanted to especially favour some US companies as it was planning to hand over very precious reserves and assets of the oil and gas sector to American companies.
The first meeting of the privatisation commission on January 8 will discuss the appointment of financial adviser for the privatisation of government shares in the UBL through stock market, 26% shares of the PIA and PI Investment Limited’s Roosvelt Hotel in New York and Scribe Hotel in France.
The appointment of financial adviser for privatisation of National Power Construction Company, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and OGDCL will also be discussed.
The sources said the present government was following the footprints of Musharraf’s government by selling the shares of the OGDCL in the international stock market.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2014.