The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) on Friday declared 24 state-owned entities (SOEs) eligible for privatization in a bid to reduce excess financial burden on the national exchequer.
Chaired by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who holds the additional charge of deputy prime minister, the meeting was also attended by the ministers for finance, commerce, privatization, industries and production, the State Bank of Pakistan governor, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and relevant federal secretaries.
During the meeting, per a statement, the Ministry of Privatization submitted for deliberation a phased Privatization Program for the next five years based on the recommendations of the Privatization Commission board. It said that the meeting sought a phased approach devised in consultation with respective ministries for the 24 SOEs approved for privatization.
Reportedly, the SOEs earmarked for sale include the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA); First Women Bank Limited; House Building Finance Company Limited; Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited; Utility Stores Corporation; Pakistan Engineering Company Limited; State Life Insurance Co Limited; Sindh Engineering Limited; and the Pakistan Re-Insurance Co Limited. All government-owned power distribution companies were also declared eligible for privatization, as per longstanding demands of global lenders and local experts.
According to the post-meeting statement, the CCOP recommended prioritizing the sale of loss-making entities, while retaining federal control over only “strategic and essential” SOEs. It said that SOEs making profits should also be considered for privatization if they are not “essential” services. In this regard, under the privatization policy guidelines, the CCOP considered 84 SOEs for privatization, recommending 40 to be categorized as “strategic or essential” by the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises. Any SOEs not categorized as “strategic or essential,” it said, should be included in the Privatization Program. It directed all ministries and divisions to seek categorization as soon as possible to enable the government to finalize a comprehensive phased privatization program during the CCOP’s next meeting.
The CCOP also directed the Privatization ministry to examine the rationale provided by various ministries for not considering them for privatization, adding all such proposals should be submitted to the CCOP’s next meeting.
The CCOP further considered a proposal for the “transfer of 322,460,900 shares of Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDCL) from the Privatization Commission’s CDC account to Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division),” deciding to defer the matter until the Law and Justice Division had examined the relevant provisions of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, 2023 and submitted its recommendations.