The sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a private bidder with no liabilities has been alluded to by Federal Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan.
The minister also urged provincial governments to assume control of the airline and manage it professionally during a press conference on Sunday.
According to the current structure, he stated, approximately Rs600 billion of PIA’s debt of over Rs830 billion has been placed in a holding company, with the remaining Rs200 billion going to the private bidder.
Mr. Khan went on to say that the government may come up with a fresh plan to pay off the Rs200 billion in debt and “sell a clean PIA” to a private buyer after its initial attempt to sell it failed.
According to him, this could pique purchasers’ attention.
Aleem claims that because of the IMF arrangement, the government was unable to comply with some investor demands.
The minister further asserted that because of the agreement with the IMF, the government was unable to comply with some demands made by prospective purchasers, such as zero GST on the purchase of new aircraft.
Governments can purchase PIA
Three days before to the minister’s comments, the government was humiliated by the unsuccessful attempt to privatize PIA.
The lone bidder, the Blue World City consortium, offered a price of Rs10 billion, which was much less than the government’s minimum estimate of more than Rs85 billion, which caused the process to stop.
At least two provincial governments have expressed interest in assuming ownership of the airline since that time.
“The Blue World City consortium was shortlisted for participation in the auction by the consultant under the legal framework,” Mr. Khan stated in his news conference, adding that the company’s proposal was inappropriate.
He went on to say that provinces can meet the legal conditions if they want to purchase the national flag carrier.
According to him, only the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has expressed interest in purchasing PIA thus far.
According to Mr. Khan, he also discovered through the media that Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab, had discussed purchasing PIA with her father, PML-N president Nawaz Sharif.
The provinces of Sindh and Balochistan may express interest if the governments of Punjab and KP are. And all provinces can own the airline and operate PIA professionally if they so choose,” Mr. Khan stated.
He declared that competent management was “essential to run PIA” efficiently and that “[the] provinces would have to bring professionals.”
He clarified, though, that the prime minister will decide whether to sell PIA to a province or to begin the privatization process over.
Mr. Khan also addressed the criticism directed at him for missing Thursday’s bidding event.
“I’m in Saudi Arabia to meet with a minister for investment in Pakistan,” he said.
He claimed that with the assistance of a foreign expert, the Privatization Commission finished the first bidding round “in a transparent way.”
He blamed his predecessors for “destroying” PIA and claimed he was unable to stray from the privatization process that had been prescribed to him.
Mr. Khan claims that the caretaker administration created the groundwork for PIA’s privatization.
He also promised to make any necessary adjustments to the framework in order to continue the privatization process.
Mr. Khan went on to say that all of these things had occurred prior to his appointment as minister of privatization.
He claimed that PIA “could not be sold at throw-away price” because it was a “national asset.” The minister claimed that if PIA acquired new aircraft and top talent, it could be “turned into a profitable organization.”
NHA’s earnings
Mr. Khan, who is also the minister of communications, asserted that the National Highway Authority (NHA) will make Rs50 billion in profit by the end of the year for the first time.
He asserted that NHA’s revenue would increase from Rs64 billion to Rs110 billion this year. The minister said that by eliminating 3,500 new positions at Pakistan Post, he was able to save Rs2.8 billion.
