ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was told on Wednesday that under Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy, 30 mobile manufacturers had been issued licenses to start local production of mobile devices by setting up local facilities.

Parliamentary Secretary for Industries and Production Shahida Akhtar Ali told the House that a mobile device manufacturing policy had been made to encourage local production and counter the security threat. The mobile phone manufacturing policy will ensure localization and indigenization of parts of mobile phones, she added.

Responding to a question regarding the rehabilitation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), she said that the government was making continuous efforts for the rehabilitation of PSM.

She said that to review PSM, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet in its meeting on 3rd May 2019, passed directions to place PSM on the privatization list and directed the Privatization Commission (PC) for appointment of Transaction Advisory Consortium (TAC) for the revival of PSM through advice to the government on a set of appropriate privatization modes and as per law.

The Financial Advisor (FA) bank of China international Consortium was shortlisted by the privatization commission, she said and added that the FA had carried out due diligence in consultation with the PC to find out the best possible option/mode for the revival of PSM.

The Parliamentary Secretary said that after deliberation, FA had proposed a transaction structure model suggesting transferring Identified Core operating Assets into a wholly owned subsidiary of PSMC through a scheme of arrangement.

To formalize the proposal, PC moved a summary for the approval of the proposed transaction structure she said adding the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) has approved the creation of a new subsidiary/company as part of the transaction model in which assets of PSM shall be transferred.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2022