March 19, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 15, 1424

LAHORE, March 18: The state-owned banks and DFIs have rescheduled/restructured 175 non-performing loans (NPLs) involving an outstanding default amount of Rs28 billion during the last two years on the intervention of the Corporate & Industrial Restructuring Corporation (CIRC).

“Another 170 cases which involve an outstanding default amount of about Rs31 billion are under resolution,” CIRC Chief Executive Officer Javed Hamid told businessmen at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here on Tuesday.

The CIRC, set up in September 2000 under an ordinance to clean up the infected balance sheets of the state-owned banks/DFIs by acquiring their NPLs and to revive sick industries, has sold assets of 74 units in the last two years. Since its formation, the CIRC has assumed 187 cases involving an outstanding amount of Rs128 billion.

As many as 10 units sold by the CIRC are operational, while it has already handed over the possession of 38 out 74 sold by it so far.

The CIRC picks up non-performing assets (NPAs) that are in default of 365 days or more and are equal to or are in excess of Rs30 million. “We help revive the sick units through a change in their management. We sell their assets and do not transfer their liabilities to new owners,” Hamid said. He said the assets were sold at the real market value.

He said the “corporation had managed to sell more units in Punjab than in any other province due to a quicker disposal of cases by the high court of this province”.

The CIRC has disposed of 38 units out of 76 located in Punjab, 22 out of 75 in Sindh, 10 out of 18 in the NWFP and only four out of 15 in Balochistan.

The corporation has plans to sell 30 more units in six months. “We plan to acquire more NPAs from the HBL as it is expected to be privatized in the coming few months,” Hamid said.