Govt to privatise 49 public sector concerns

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to privatise 49 organisations within the next five years. The decision was made in a session of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Privatisation under Syed Mustafa Mahmood.

During the session, Secretary for Privatisation Rizwan Malik gave a briefing. The Privatisation Ministry said that 15 companies had been taken out of the privatisation list and eight had been added to it.

Pakistan is in discussion with half a dozen companies from Russia and China to run the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) under public-private partnership and increase its capacity from 1.1 million to 3.5 million per year.

The committee was informed that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the PSM have so far racked up combined losses of around Rs600 billion, of which the PIA losses stand at around Rs400 billion.

Financial year 2007-08 was the last year when the PSM posted profit of Rs9.5 billion. It ran into losses both in the PML-N and the PPP eras. Since then, its financial health has deteriorated. In June 2015, it was closed. The mills current total losses are around Rs200 billion.

Secretary Privatisation Rizwan Malik said that the government had decided to PIA and PSM are in the list.

He said, “The steel mills will be sold on public-private partnership, to enhance its production capacity from 1.1 to 3.5 million tonnes per year.”

However, among other more than a dozen public sector enterprises, PIA has been put off the list of privatisation programme and the government is making hectic efforts to bring this national flag carrier into a profitable entity.

He further said that in next one and a half years, the government would give seven public entities in private hands that include SME bank Limited, First Women Bank Limited, 1,223 MW Balloki Power Plant, 1,230 MW Haveli Bahadur Power Plant, Mari Petroleum Limited (divestment of remaining shares), Jinnah Convention Centre, Islamabad, Lakhra Coal Mines (now Lakhra Coal Development Company) and Services International Hotel, Lahore.

The privatization secretary, while briefing the arliamentary panel, said that the government has decided to privatise around four-dozen state-run entities in two phases.

He further said in first phase, in next one-and-a-half-year, the government would give eight public entities in private hands that include SME bank Limited, First Women Bank Limited, 1223 MW Balloki Power Plant, 1230 MW Haveli Bahadur Power Plant, Mari Petroleum Limited (divestment of remaining shares), Jinnah Convention Centre, Islamabad, Lakhra Coal Mines (now Lakhra Coal Development Company) and Services International Hotel, Lahore.

When The News contacted the Secretary Privatization, he said that the government has recently delisted 15 entities of the privatization list and Pakistan Steel Mills and PIA are also included in that list. He added that for the Pakistan Steel Mills’ running under PPP mode, the Ministry of Industries and Production would execute that process and in discussion with the Chinese and Russian Companies. Aviation division is also working hard on the restructure of the PIA.

He said that other entities which have been delisted of the privatization program are National Bank of Pakistan, Industrial Development Bank Limited (IDBL), Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan (USC), Pakistan Steel Fabricating Company Limited, National Highways Authority (NHA), National Construction Limited (NCL), Prining Corporation of Pakistan (PCP) and Pakistan Railways and its allied facilities, factories, workshops etc.

He further said there is a list of 41 entities which the government plans to privatize in second phase, however the concern ministries and divisions have been asked to give their views on their privatization.

Companies on privatisation list

Organisations to be privatised in the first phase spanning the next one and a half years

1- SME bank Limited

2- First Women Bank Limited

3- 1223 MW Balloki Power Plant

4- 1230 MW Haveli Bahadur Power Plant

5- Mari Petroleum Limited (divestment of remaining shares)

6- Jinnah Convention Centre, Islamabad

7- Lakhra Coal Mines (now Lakhra Coal Development Company)

8- Services International Hotel, Lahore.

Organisations to be privatised in the second phase:

1- House Building Finance Corporation

2- National Investment Trust Limited (NITL)

3- National Insurance Company (NIC)

4- Pakistan Reinsurance Company (PRC)

5- State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC)

6- Oil and Gas Development Corporation Limited (OGDCL)

7- Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL)

8- Government Holding Private Limited (GHPL)

9- Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC)

10- Faisalabad Electric Supply Company Limited (FESCO)

11- Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO)

12- Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO)

13- Gujranwala Electric Power Company Limited (GEPCO)

14- Multan Electric Power Company Limited (MEPCO)

15- Peshawar Electric Supply Company Limited (PESCO)

16- Hyderabad Electric Supply Company Limited (HESCO)

17- Quetta Electric Supply Company Limited (QESCO)

18- Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO)

19- Kot Addu Power Company (KAPCO)

20- Jamshoro Power Generation Company Ltd – JPCL (GENCO- I)

21- Central Power Generation Company Ltd – CPGCL (GENCO – II)

22- Lakhra Power Generation Company Ltd – LPGCL (GENCO – IV)

23- Northern Power Generation Company Ltd – NPGCL (GENCO – III)

24- PIA-IL (Roosevelt Hotel, NY & Scribe Hotel, Paris)

25- National Fertilizers Corporation, its units and subsidiaries

26- State Engineering Corporation, its units and subsidiaries

27- Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC)

28- Pakistan Machine Tool Factory (PMTF)

29- Pakistan Engineering Company (PECO)

30- Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) and its units

31- Sindh Engineering Limited (SEL)

32- Morafco Industries (Machinery as is where is basis)

33- Republic Motors Limited (RML)

34- Pakistan Industrial and Technical Training Centre

35- Export Processing Zone Authority

36- Port Qasim Authority (PQA)

37- Karachi Port Trust (KPT)

38- Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC)

39- Telephone Industries of Pakistan, Haripur (TIP)

40- Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (PTCL)

41- National Book Foundation (NBF)