RAWALPINDI: Tariq Bajwa, a former governor of the State Bank, has been named as the chairman of the PIA Holding Company board, following approval by the federal cabinet.
The 11-member board received approval from the federal cabinet on Tuesday, as reported by sources through circulation.
The national carrier’s assets and liabilities will be transferred to the holding company, which will register with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, in a move that is being heralded as a key development in the carrier’s privatization process.
There will be four government representatives and seven independent directors on the board.
Most of the independent directors are chief executive officers of commercial banks; these include CEOs of Bank Alfalah and United Bank Limited, Atif Aslam Bajwa and Shahzad Dada, respectively.
There were secretaries of aviation, finance, privatization, and the Planning Commission among the government representatives on the board.
Air Vice Marshal Amir Hayat, CEO of PIA, has been named the organization’s first CEO.
The plan to restructure the airline was approved by the PIA board of directors in July 2023. The airline itself will remain as a wholly owned subsidiary, retaining aviation assets and related liabilities, while the new holding company will retain legacy loans, non-aviation assets, and current PIACL subsidiaries (PIA-IL, Skyrooms Limited, and Saber Travel Network).
Interactions with possible financiers
In a related development, investors from at least seven nations are interested in the privatization of PIA, according to information presented to a meeting presided over by the federal aviation minister.
A press release from the Ministry of Aviation states that on Tuesday, Khawaja Asif chaired a discussion about the privatization of PIA and the outsourcing of airports.
Investors from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Qatar, the UAE, Malaysia, and Turkiye have expressed interest in the deal, according to International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s commercial arm spearheading the privatization process. Local parties are also considering the deal.
The minister gave ministry representatives instructions to set up a virtual meeting with Pakistani embassies in nations where investors are considering purchasing the airline.
The ambassadors will be briefed on aviation by the government, who will also ask them to “actively interact” with interested parties.
The press release also stated that other senior officers, as well as the secretaries of the Foreign Office and the Aviation Division and the Privatization Commission, attended the meeting.
Additionally, he suggested establishing contact with regional investors to raise their knowledge so they can form consortiums and take part in the bidding process.
Usman Akhtar Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave the minister an update on the marketing strategy and initial talks with foreign investors on the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines, including those from the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye.
Additionally, the minister gave the authorities instructions to travel to these nations and speak with possible investors.
