March 9, 2003	Sunday	Muharram 5, 1424

ISLAMABAD, March 8: The Privatization Commission here on Saturday decided to disinvest shares of some major public sector enterprises, including the PTCL, the PIA and the National Bank, through the stock exchange.

The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Privatisation and Investment Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh to review the status and progress of the privatization activities.

Dr Hafeez said the decision would help deepen and broaden the base of the stock market and would provide the facilities to the common man for participation in the privatization process. These entities include the National Bank of Pakistan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, the Pakistan International Airline Company, the Sui Southern Gas Company, and the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of two unlisted companies — the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL).

According to the Privatization Commission announcement, the percentage of the shares proposed to be divested would be announced after the consideration and approval by the Privatization Commission Board and the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP).

The Privatization Commission has received over Rs2.8 billion through the divestment of GoP shares in the ARL, the POL and the D.G. Khan Cement during the last 10 weeks.

Referring to the bidding of Pakistan State Oil as scheduled on April 26, 2003, the meeting was informed that all outstanding issues, including the one relating to receivables, would be resolved prior to the bidding.

It was decided in the meeting to hold the bidding of Investment Corporation of Pakistan-Small Enterprises Mutual Fund (ICP-SEMF) on March 22. The PM’s adviser asked the Privatization Commission officials to take effective measures to accelerate the pace of the privatization of public sector entities in an open and transparent manner.

He emphasized that during the process of privatization of the national assets no compromise would be made on national interest. “We are ensuring active participation of international and quality players in the process,” he added.

The meeting also finalized the agenda for the Privatization Commission Board meeting, which is expected to meet within the next two weeks.

The meeting was further informed that the proposals made by the financial adviser for KESC, Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PWC), for the privatization of the corporation were under active review.