ISLAMABAD, Sept 24: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday approved privatisation of the state-owned Hazara Phosphate and Fertilisers (Private) Limited (HPFL).

The approval was accorded in the first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) headed by the prime minister. The meeting was also attended by the federal ministers for labour, information technology and governor State Bank of Pakistan.

The bidding of HPFL would be held on Thursday (Sept 25) at the Privatisation Commission. The PC had already issued necessary instructions to the potential bidders in this regard.

According to an official statement, the CCoP discussed in detail the privatisation process and approved in principle the privatisation of HPFL through an open bidding process.

According to the standard procedure the successful bidder will be issued Letter of Acceptance (LoA) with the approval of the PC board and CCoP.

The buyer will have to deposit 25 per cent of the bid price within 14 days after the issuance of the LoA and the remaining amount within 60 days.

The plant at Haripur, 75-km from Islamabad, is built on 57 acres of developed land and includes plant, housing and ancillary facilities. National Fertiliser Corporation of Pakistan (Private) Limited (NFC) owns HPFL.

The HPFL is a state-owned private limited company, registered under the Companies Ordinance 1984. The authorised share capital of the company is Rs200 million divided into 20 million ordinary shares of Rs10 each whereas the issued, subscribed and paid-up capital of the company is Rs191.143 million comprising 19.143 million ordinary shares of Rs10 each.

National Fertiliser Marketing Limited (NFML) is currently carrying out marketing of the product of HPFL. The purchaser shall, however, be free to market the product using its own arrangement.