The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has had the deadline for its privatization delayed by four months as Islamabad struggles to contain political fallout associated with the airline’s unbundling.
The offloading of a 24 per cent stake in the carrier, part of the conditions Pakistan accepted in return for an International Monetary Fund (IMF)-provided USD6.67 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed to last year, was slated to be done by December of this year only to be postponed to June of next year. It has since emerged that deadline has now been delayed until October 2015.
In September, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Privatization Mohammad Zubair, announced that PIA’s core business will be sold off with government to retain control of ancillary operations such as ground handling and hotels under a holding company. The state will then sell off each of its interests individually over time.
Though never officially confirmed, Emirates (EK, Dubai Int’l), Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int’l), and Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int’l) were believed to have been among the contenders for the carrier’s core business.
