The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has also expressed support to the proposed privatisation of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) that is currently facing deficit of billions of rupees.
As per SBP, despite outdated technology being used in PSM, it has maximum productive potential so far, however, in spite of bailout package worth billions of rupees and permanent administrative and financial constraints, the steel mills has failed to achieve the goal of self-reliance.
“The lack of sufficient and inappropriate performance of PSM is affecting the entire chain of supply, therefore, its privatisation would be beneficial to improve its performance on sustainable basis,” the SBP added.
According to a media report, Pakistan is still far behind various countries of the world regarding per capita consumption of steel. International average of steel consumption is about 216.9 kilogrammes while this ratio is about 261.3 kg in Asian countries. The ratio is about 58.6 kg in India, however in Pakistan it is limited to about 23.5 kg.
