PC board approves sale talks for two state-owned FWBL, HBFC

ISLAMABAD The Privatisation Commission Board on Monday approved the formation of committees to negotiate the sale of two state-owned banks and to seek cabinet approval for the legal separation of the national flag carrier, the board said in a statement.

The board approved the formation of a negotiation committee to commence talks for concluding the House Building Finance Company Limited (HBFCL) transaction. Additionally, the board sanctioned the establishment of transaction committees for HBFC and First Women Bank Limited (FWBL).

The board, chaired by caretaker Minister for Privatisation Fawad Hasan Fawad, met in Islamabad to review the progress of various privatisation transactions, including HBFCL and FWBL. The board also discussed the proposed transaction structure for the divestment of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL), which involves splitting the core aviation business and assets from the non-core assets and liabilities.

A separate consultative meeting was held with the minister and key government stakeholders, including the secretaries of finance, aviation, law, privatisation division, and privatisation commission, as well as the CEO of PIACL and the financial advisors for the divestment.

The meeting discussed the roadmap for the legal segregation of PIACL, which aims to make the core aviation services more attractive for potential investors, while retaining the non-core assets in a holding company for later disposal, the statement said.

"During the meeting, the Financial Advisors presented a proposal for the legal segregation of PIACL, aiming at separating core aviation business and assets for the eventual divestment of core aviation services initially."

The board is also scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday to deliberate on the approval of PIACL's legal segregation/draft scheme of arrangement and the transaction structure proposed by the financial advisor for the divestment.

"Following the board's endorsement, the legal segregation plan and transaction structure will be submitted to the Federal Cabinet through the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) for final approval," the statement said.

The minister stressed the need to expedite the privatisation process and to ensure transparency and competitiveness in the transactions, the statement added.