Pakistan is set to complete the sale of its 82.64% stake in First Women Bank Limited (FWBL) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month under a government-to-government agreement, officials told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation.
According to a report by The News, the UAE expressed formal interest earlier this year, and the cabinet approved the transaction on February 6, 2024, Secretary Privatisation Usman Bajwa informed the panel.
This will be the fifth attempt to privatise FWBL after previous efforts in 1994, 1996, 2018, and 2021 failed to materialise. FWBL, established in 1989, currently operates 42 branches across 24 cities. The Ministry of Finance holds the majority stake, while Habib Bank Limited and MCB Bank each own 5.78%, with smaller shares held by Allied Bank, National Bank of Pakistan, and UBL.
Bajwa also updated the committee on the progress of privatising three major power distribution companies — Hesco, Sepco, and Pesco. A Request for Proposal (RFP) to hire financial advisers is expected next month, developed in collaboration with the Power Division and the World Bank.
During the session, lawmakers sharply criticised Pesco for incurring losses of Rs143 billion last fiscal year, with liabilities reaching Rs620 billion and technical losses at 35%. Calls were made for the utility’s closure, while Pesco’s CEO forecasted a Rs20 billion reduction in losses this year.
Hesco faced scrutiny for prolonged power outages, with its CEO attributing issues to line losses. Lawmakers contested this, citing a minimum daily loadshedding of 10 hours. The CEO reported that 200 out of 650 feeders are now free of loadshedding, with plans to add four more by July.
Chairman Farooq Sattar demanded that the finance secretary appear before the panel and urged the Finance Division to release Rs6 billion by September, with the remainder expected next fiscal year. “This is public trust; the Finance Ministry must return it,” he stated.
