ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government has made a significant decision to exclude Pakistan Steel Mills from its list of state-owned entities earmarked for privatisation, as reported by media outlets.
In its place, the government has unveiled a revised list featuring 26 state-owned entities (SoEs) to undergo privatisation, marking a strategic move within the ongoing privatisation program. Among these entities, four each belong to the financial and real estate sectors, while the majority, totaling 14 institutions, hail from the struggling energy sector.
The newly updated roster for privatisation includes notable entities such as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) representing the aviation sector. Additionally, three institutions from the state’s industrial sector are part of this privatisation drive.
A significant addition to the privatisation program is the State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC), indicating a broadened scope for privatisation initiatives. Notably, power plants, including Balloki, Haveli Bahadur, Guddu, and Nandipur, along with ten state-owned electricity distribution companies, are also part of the active privatisation list from the energy sector.
Furthermore, the government has included the House Building Finance Corporation, First Women Bank, Pakistan Engineering Company, and Sindh Engineering Limited in its privatisation agenda. Other state-owned entities slated for privatisation include Services International Hotel Lahore, Jinnah Convention Center Islamabad, and PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel in New York.
This revised approach to privatisation reflects a strategic repositioning of state-owned entities for potential privatisation.
It was earlier reported that the Ministry of Privatisation formally handed over Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) to the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P), on 13th November 2023, . This was the first step in trying to privatise the ailing national asset, however the asset is now once again taken off the list.
