The government is set to sell off public sector companies to improve their performance.
Board of Investment Chairman Muhammad Zubair revealed this to journalists during his first interaction after assuming office.
“It is not the government’s job to do business,” said Zubair, adding that the government will change some companies’ boards of directors to improve performance.
He said work is underway to separate those companies that will be privatised from those the government will restructure to make more profitable. Zubair said they hoped to complete the evaluation process within a month.
Though the list has not yet been finalised, Zubair confirmed that power generation and distribution companies, Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan State Oil will be privatised.
According to Zubair a committee will be formed to reduce the size of the government. In the power sector alone, as many as 19 state owned companies are operating at both provincial and federal levels. “The size of the government is too strong and too heavy,” said Zubair.
The privatisation of state-owned companies is one of the conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund’s $5.3 billion to $7.3 billion bailout package. According to various estimates, Pakistan is losing between Rs400 billion and Rs500 billion due to losses incurred by state owned companies.
The inefficiency of state owned companies, however, is only one reason for the loss of money. According to Zubair, the previous government’s credibility scared investors away, who became unwilling to invest in Pakistan. This resulted in the investment to GDP ratio dropping from 23% of GDP in 2007 to below 13% of GDP in 2012. The massive drop in investment in the last five years led to a loss of $20 billion.
That is why the government is not only trying to privatise state owned companies, but also jumpstart previously stalled investments, and attract new investments. One example Zubair pointed out is the Yamaha Company delegation that has been in Islamabad for the last two months to sign an agreement for a $150 million production plant.
Zubair said bringing in new investment was one of the top priorities of the PML-N government. He said for the current fiscal year the investment target was set at $2.5 billion, up from last year’s total investment of $1.4 billion. Zubair said most of the $2.5 billion investment will be in the power sector.
That is the actual plan of PMLN. Now every one will take his part and it will be "totally transparent". Also it will be approved by "Adil Gillani" for transparency.
Why not Nawaz sharif selling his assets to workers ? We need to privatize his wealth of around 3 billions dollars.
Sell your assets before selling the country
Looted money of 3 billion dollars
The country will be much better if the assets of Nawaz and Zardari are privaitized; After all there money is the public property and workers must be a part of it
Largest companies of Pakistan are going to be sold to cronies, not a good start for nation thats already mortgaged by IMF! so what are plans for the money generated by these "small time" national assets? and why spare PIA and Railways? they deserve to be sold first!
Good start PML-N. Privatization is adopted in the whole world. There is no other way to improve efficiency of poor companies. specially if workers and government officials are not devoted and honest. Please go a head….!!! Start working on Railways as well, but the price should be justified and open bidding will be good idea I trust.
I guess we need to start with the assets of rulers….then go to the state assets
Sharifs are the most corrupt politicians in history
country is once again on sale.mln has found a convenient tout-frontman to execute trheir anti nation plan to sell national assets on peanuts,who can forget mcb sale and now nandipur.let sc-cjp stop it
who is this zubair omar.more loyal than the king.more keen to throw away life line pia,psml,railways at throw away prices even if it is india.that is what hafeez shiekh did in musharraf days and shukat tareen promoted,=.brokers of state s=appratus,cjp must stop it
This is a sad day… these important assets will now be sold to private companies or even worse to the shrewd chinese.. thousands will lose jobs.. families ruined. Instead govt should have looked for ways to increase efficiency and productivity.. I wonder who is controlling the govt from behind in selling these prime national assets, one after another to foreign private companies and these chinese.. no one protests here..
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