KARACHI, Dec 29: The offer of additional shares in Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) to local retail investors would be made on January 11, a press release by the Privatisation Commission on Friday stated.

It noted that the government would divest 21.51 million shares at a price of Rs110 per share. Subscription list would open on January 11 and close on January 13, 2007. “The retail offer price represents an effective discount of almost three per cent to the price paid by institutional investors in the international and domestic institutional offering that priced on November 30, 2006”, the announcement said.

The PC stated that following the close of the offer, balloting would take place on or around January 23, 2007, with final allocation announced thereafter. Federal Minister for Privatisation and Investment Zahid Hamid was quoted to have said: “This retail offer of shares in OGDCL is yet another milestone in the government’s “privatisation for the people’ programme”.

He observed that OGDCL had the largest oil and gas reserves and exploration acreage in Pakistan and with its planned expansion in exploration and production activities, the company was well poised to benefit from increasing demand for energy, arising out of country’s economic growth.