ISLAMABAD: A draft agreement for settlement of Pakistan Steel Mills debts will be shared with stakeholders for deliberation and input, decided the Privatization Commission (PC) on Tuesday.
In a high-level meeting held on Tuesday, the details of the draft agreement were read out in front of all representatives which also included the legal advisors, reported an English daily.
It was given approval by Ministry of Finance’s representative and it was agreed to table the draft agreement before the respective boards of Sui Southern Gas Company, State Bank of Pakistan and National Bank of Pakistan.
Issue regarding settlement of dues owed to PSM employees was also discussed during the meeting alongside liabilities of the state-owned enterprise.
The meeting was presided by Minister for Privatization, Daniyal Aziz with representatives of National Bank of Pakistan, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL), Ministry of Finance, Pakistan Steel Mills and Pak-China Investment Company Limited were also present there.
Outstanding issues pertaining to PSM’s major liabilities were discussed before the proposed lease model of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC).
The Privatization Minister informed the participants regarding a recent meeting of Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) in which liability settlement, transaction structure plan of PSMC came under deliberation.
CCOP has instructed the Privatization Commission to go ahead with privatization or restricting of PSMC in a responsible way, Mr. Aziz said.
He shared the government’s commitment to commence with a detailed liability settlement plan which would be prepared in consultation with appropriate stakeholders.
Mr. Aziz requested SSGC, NBP and Finance Division to offer maximum support in this regard, so problems of PSMC liabilities could be settled in a cordial manner.
In response, officials of SSGC, NPB offered their full cooperation to settle the issue of PSMC’s outstanding liabilities but said they would need permission of their respective boards for any dispensation which might be given to PSMC.
