November 12, 2002	Tuesday	Ramazan 6, 1423

ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: The representatives of the potential bidders, officials of the Privatization Commission, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources and Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO) are holding their first meeting on November 15 in Karachi to discuss the privatization of PSO.

The potential bidders having completed their visits to the data rooms are in the process of finalizing their due diligence prior to the bidding.

Earlier, according to Privatization Commission, advertisements soliciting Expressions of Interest (EoIs) were placed in international and domestic publications in March and April 2002.

Six parties later submitted their Statement of Qualifications and subsequently five parties were pre-qualified to participate in the privatization process.

The government plans to privatize Pakistan State Oil as an integrated company by selling 51 per cent stakes in the company to a qualified strategic buyer.