PSM privatization: Pak in touch with Chinese, Russians

The standing committee of the National Assembly on privatization has been informed by the Privatization Commission that Pakistan in negotiations with Chinese and Russian companies for privatizing Pakistan Steel Mills.
Secretary Privatization Commission Rizwan Malik who briefed the committee about government’s plans of privatizing 48 public sector entities (PSEs) during its tenure said the accumulative loss of PSM had surged to Rs400 billion.
The government would restructure PSM before its privatization as no one would be interested in purchasing it in the existing conditions.
The government will privatize PSM in the second phase and PC believes it will take three to five years. They were holding negotiations with 5-6 companies for selling PSM, Secretary PC told the committee. The companies are from China and Russia. The government wants to privatize the PSM on public-private partnership.
The PML – N government had privatized five public sector enterprises from 2013 to 2018. The five transactions included of Habib Bank Limited (HBL), United Bank Limited (UBL), Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and National Power Construction Company (NPCC). The government had generated $1.7 billion through privatization of these five PSEs.
The PPP government during its tenure from 2008 to 2013 had privatized a single public sector entity. The PML-Q had privatized 38 PSEs during its five years tenure from 2002 to 2007, which had generated Rs377 billion.n