February 28, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 29, 1427

KARACHI, Feb 27: Investment and Privatization Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez told Dawn on Monday he was able to raise as much as Rs270 billion from privatization during the last three years, which averaged at Rs90 billion a year.

The minister, who would relinquish charge as the head of Privatization Commission on March 11, 2006, at the end of his tenure as a Senator, said that in the 13 years prior to his takeover as the PC head, the country had seen privatization worth Rs96 billion, which worked out at Rs8bn a year.

Self effacing, the minister did not brag about his accomplishments, but gave the information in reply to a query. The PC is all set to put Pak American Fertilizer Company on the auction block on Tuesday. The other two major transactions that Dr Hafeez would like to see reach conclusion include Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO).

He would not confirm March 10 as the final date of bidding for the oil-marketing giant, but said that the date for PSO would be finalized after the pre-bid meeting with bidders. The pre-bid meeting is set to be held on March 2, in Karachi.

Four parties are understood to be in the race for acquisition of PSO. Those include: Al-Ghurair Group of Dubai, UAE; Abu Dhabi Group (buyers of United Bank Limited and sponsors of Bank Alfalah); Fauji Foundation and the Alnoor-Al-Jomaih Holding Co. KCA (buyers of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC).