ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission Board on Thursday approved the transaction structure for Pakistan Steel Mills.
The meeting of the PC Board was held in Islamabad with Privatisation Minister Mohammedmian Soomro in the chair.
During the meeting, matters pertaining to Pakistan Steel Mills, Guddu Power Plant, Sindh Engineering Limited, hiring of Financial Advisory Consortium (FAC) for Roosevelt Hotel, offloading of Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) shares were discussed in detail, according to handout issued by the Privatisation Commission.
The PC Board approved the transaction structure for the revival of PSM Corporation, which has not been operational since June 2015.
“The transaction structure approval was agreed to in-principal and the concerned financial adviser was asked to expedite the procedural follow-up processes,” the statement read. “The transaction structure will now be presented before the Cabinet Committee of Privatization (CCOP) for approval.”
Meanwhile, the terms of reference (TORs) for the hiring of financial advisers for PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel were also deliberated upon by the board members.
The board further discussed the divestment of up to 10pc of shares in PPL and up to 7pc shares in OGDCL. After extensive discussion on transaction fundamentals, market conditions and pros and cons of various options, the board decided to go ahead with the hiring of a FAC for divestment of 10pc shares in PPL. The same process for OGDCL would commence once the hiring for PPL is completed.
Moreover, the PC board decided to re-invite the Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to hire financial advisers for the privatisation of Guddu Power Plant due to an exorbitant financial bid submitted by the top rank consortium earlier.
It also decided to re-invite the EOIs for the appointment of FAC for the privatisation of Sindh Engineering Limited (SEL).
The previous shortlisted top-ranked consortium was insisting on changes to the agreed Financial Services Agreement, including changing the transaction scope and payment terms, which could not be accepted by privatisation commission.
Speaking on the occasion, the privatisation minister said that the commission is fully geared up to achieving the objectives of expediting the privatization of state-owned enterprises.
“This is the seventh transaction approved since the start of the privatization plans in October 2018,” he stated. “The Privatization Commission will be focusing on completing these transactions successfully along with other transactions, which are currently in progress.”
