- The inherited debt was transferred to the government to attract buyers.
- The government plans to finish the privatization of the PIA by the end of the year.
- Jones Lang Lasalle was appointed to advise on the sales options of Roosevelt Hotel.
Islamabad: The government will ask for new expressions of interest in the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) later this month, a government adviser announced on Thursday, two days after PIA published its first annual benefit in more than two decades.
Islamabad sought to unload a participation of 51 to 100% in the PIA of the debt, which is part of the efforts aimed at raising funds and reforming public cash companies, as planned as part of an international monetary fund program of $ 7 billion.
However, Islamabad’s attempt to privatize PIA last year has fallen flat when it received only one offer, well below the requested price of more than $ 300 million.
Pakistan has unloaded almost the entire debt inherited from the national carrier and moved it to government books after the bidders raised questions that led to the failed attempt, according to the Ministry of Privatization.
“In our last attempt to privatize the PIA, prequalified bidders had problems with taxation and the balance sheet. These are taken care of,” said Muhammad Ali, government advisor on privatization, said Reuters. “We plan to publish the new expression of interest (EOI) by the last week of April 2025,” he said.
The government plans to finish the privatization of the airline before the end of this year.
“We also revise the pre-qualification criteria,” he said, adding that the reference price could also be revised taking into account the latest accounts and changes in the balance sheet.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced last year his intention to sell all public enterprises.
The advisor said that the process of privatizing electricity distribution companies had also started, which described it as “high priority transaction”.
He said that certain companies were to be sold during the second phase were pushed in the first phase.
The advisor said the government had appointed Jones Lang Lasalle to advise various sales options for the Roosevelt hotel building on Pia in Manhattan, New York. They include the sale of the building as it is or to opt for a joint venture with a high -level developer, who has the potential to generate profits five times higher, said Ali.