March 16, 2002	Saturday	Muharram 1, 1423

ISLAMABAD, March 15: The Corporate and Industrial Restructuring Corporation (CIRC) has disposed of 33 cases worth Rs4.7 billion in two years of its inception against an outstanding debt of Rs60 billion in 339 sick units.

The official documents available with Dawn show that of total 33 cases as of March 5, 2002, 22 cases were settled in Punjab, nine in Sindh and one each in NWFP and Balochistan.

Total purchase price of these units had amounted to Rs436 million and gross sale price amounted to Rs768 million. Of the gross sale price, CIRC’s share amounted to Rs540 million and its running surplus amounted to Rs104 million.

Of the total, 106 cases involving Rs13.7 billion were referred by United Bank Limited (UBL), 154 cases of Rs36.8 billion by National Development Finance Corporation (NDFC), 31 cases of Rs3.2 billion by Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (IDBP), seven cases of Rs1.199 billion by National Bank of Pakistan, 32 cases of Rs3.349 billion by Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and nine cases of Rs1.1 billion by Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP).

After return/withdrawal of around 139 cases worth Rs32.8 billion, a total of 161 accounts worth Rs21.341 billion were finally acquired by the CIRC. Of these 64 cases worth Rs7.345 billion came from UBL, 46 cases worth Rs8.689 billion from NDFC, 13 cases worth Rs1.242 billion from IDBP, seven cases of Rs1.199 billion from NBP, 22 cases of Rs1.762 billion from HBL and nine cases of Rs1.104 billion from ADBP.

On the province basis, 161 accounts acquired by the CIRC included 59 in Punjab, 90 in Sindh, 10 in NWFP and two in Balochistan. Of the total 65 cases disposed of by the CIRC, 31 belonged to NWFP, 32 in Sindh and two in NWFP. Furthermore, out of the total 33 cases auctioned by the CIRC, 23 were sold in Punjab and 10 in Sindh.

Forty-one cases of Rs5.2 billion were acquired by the CIRC, but had no assets at all. These included 25 cases worth Rs3.179 billion belonging to UBL and 16 cases of Rs2.028 billion to NDFC.

In this way, net accounts acquired in 120 cases finally amounted to Rs16.134 billion. These included 39 cases worth Rs4 billion from UBL, 30 cases worth Rs6.6 billion from NDFC, 13 cases worth Rs1.242 billion from IDBP, seven cases of Rs1.199 billion from NBP, 22 cases of Rs1.7 billion from HBL and nine cases of Rs1.1 billion from ADBP.

At present the CIRC is in the process of acquiring 39 cases of Rs5.286 billion. These included 12 UBL cases of Rs871 million, 19 NDFC cases of Rs3.456 billion, 6 IDBP cases of Rs733 million and two HBL cases of Rs226 million.

The accounts so far auctioned amounted to Rs4.745 billion. These included three UBL cases of Rs226 million, five NDFC cases of Rs1.99 billion, seven IDBP cases of Rs960 million, four NBP cases of Rs300 million, seven cases each of HBL and ADBP amounting to Rs446 million and Rs823 million, respectively.

Twenty-two units sold in Punjab brought a gross sale price of Rs310 million and CIRC shares amounted to Rs251 million. Possession of 14 cases was transferred and created 2,600 direct employment opportunities.

Nine cases of Sindh brought a gross sale price of Rs441 million, including CIRC share of Rs274 million. These units created 1,300 direct jobs. One case each in NWFP and Balochistan created 75 and 125 job opportunities, respectively. In all, 4,100 direct job opportunities have been created through this restructuring.