Nine state-owned enterprises including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) are part of the active list of privatisation, Minister of State and Privatisation Commission Chairman Mohammad Zubair said.
Talking to APP, Zubair said first of four stages of the privatisation process of PIA and PSM had been completed while further work was under way.
“The Sindh government had expressed its interest in buying the steel mill,” he said.
Owing to some technical issues, he said, the PIA sell-off was delayed and it would be ensured that the entire process was done under the privatisation ordinance.
He said the government was also restructuring some state institutions that were included in the privatisation list to enhance their capacity. “We are looking at all aspects including financial, legal, human resource and technical for privatising a national institution,” he added.
The current government has so far sold shares in five state-owned enterprises worth Rs170 billion. Habib Bank, United Bank, Allied Bank, National Power Construction Company and Pakistan Petroleum Limited were the entities whose shares were sold during the tenure of the current government.
“The government is implementing its policy of privatisation with complete transparency in the process,” Zubair said.
Criticising the opposition and some sections of media which were opposing privatisation “without any ground”, he stressed that after sell-off these enterprises would give better services to the people.