ISLAMABAD, Sept 14: The Privatization Commission (PC) has invited Expression of Interests (EoIs) from the strategic investors for acquiring 51-74 per cent shares of the Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC), with management control, on “as-is-where-is-basis”.

According to a PC press release issued here on Wednesday, the interested parties had been asked to provide background of their companies/groups, the audited financial statements for the last three years, and the details of the ownership/group structure along with their EoIs by October 8, 2005.

A consortium led by Citigroup Global Markets Limited was advising the PC on the transaction, the press release added.

The Requests for Statement of Qualification (RSOQs) would be dispatched after receiving a sum of $5,000 or Rs300,000 as non-refundable processing fee from the interested parties.

Pakistan Steel is the country’s 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 bakeries, a sintering plant, blast furnaces, steel converters, bloom and slab castes billet mill, hot and cold rolling mills, galvanizing unit and 165 MEW of own power generation units, 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.