HONG KONG, March 14: Pakistan’s government plans to sell a stake worth up to $300 million in United Bank Ltd. (UBL) through a global share sale, and it has invited six investment banks to pitch for the deal, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch are all bidding for the $200m to $300 million global depository receipt (GDR) sale, the sources said.

A government source said the decision for the deal's lead manager would be made by early April, and the deal should be completed by the end of June. The government is only selling part of its roughly 45 per cent stake in UBL.

Pakistan’s government has been trying to offload part of its stake in UBL since June 2005, when it tried to sell 15 per cent through an initial public offering that eventually failed to draw enough subscribers.

A consortium of UAE-based Abu Dhabi Group and British conglomerate Bestway Group bought 51 per cent of UBL from the government in 2002.

The government was planning a 20 per cent stake sale in February 2006, according to a government source, but the deal never made it to the market.

Pakistan is being tipped by foreign investment bankers as a potential hotbed of equity issuance activity as the country's economy is growing at nearly 7pc and the government is pushing to privatise some of its biggest companies.

The country's largest listed firm, the Oil and Gas Development Co. (OGDCL) raised $813 million through a GDR sale in December, and the government is also planning a stake sale of top oil marketing firm Pakistan State Oil.—Reuters