ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: Federal Minister for Privatization and Investment, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives, Jahangir Khan Tareen reaffirmed, in an inter-ministerial Steering Committee meeting on Friday, their commitment to privatize Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) on a fast track basis as per directives of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Both the ministers directed all the concerned officials for an early resolution of critical issues pertaining to the sale of PSMC as all issues have to be settled ahead of privatization to complete the transaction in a transparent and smooth manner.

According to a statement issued here, the concerned officials assured both the ministers that all the major issues would be resolved during the given target period.

Presently, six potential bidders are taking part in the process of due diligence. These are: Al-Tuwairi Group, Saudi Arabia; Azovstal Steel, Ukraine; Government of Ras Al Khaimah; International Industries Limited Pakistan with Donbass, Ukraine; and Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, Russia.

Nineteen parties had submitted Expression of Interest (EOI) in response to the invitation to the pre-qualified strategic investors interested for acquiring 51.75pc equity stake in PSMC together with management control, while 12 submitted SOQs.

PSMC is the country‘s largest and only integrated steel manufacturing plant, with an annual designed production capacity of 1.1 million tons. It was incorporated as a private limited company in 1968 and commenced full-scale commercial operations in 1984. The PSMC complex includes coke oven batteries, a sintering plant, blast furnaces, steel converters, bloom and slab casters, billet mill, hot and cold rolling Mills, galvanizing unit and 165-mw of own power generation unit, supported by various other ancillary units. It is located 30 km south east of the coastal city of Karachi, in close proximity to Port Bin Qasim, with access to a dedicated jetty, which facilitates import of raw materials.

The PSMC manufactures a wide mix of products, which include both flat and long products. It effectively enjoys a captive domestic market due to the prevalent demand-supply imbalance in the industry, where demand has historically exceeded local supply. At the back of sustained improvement in Pakistan’s macro-economic environment, the demand for steel is expected to grow further. The PSMC is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the growth as adequate infrastructure is already in place to cater to the expanded capacity.

The PSMC also strives to maintain high quality of products and environmental standards and in this regard has received ISO 9001, ISO 1400-1 and SA 8000 certifications, along with the Environmental Excellence Award 2005. The meeting on the privatization of PSMC was also attended by Secretary Privatization Commission, Tahsin Khan Iqbal, the PSMC Chairman and representatives of ministry of industries, production and special initiatives, ministry of finance, ministry of law and human rights, CBR, SECP, Sindh government, and Citigroup, the financial adviser for privatization of PSMC.