ISLAMABAD, March 4: The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) on Monday approved the listing and Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 5 per cent Government of Pakistan (GoP) shares in Habib Bank Limited (HBL).

The CCOP, which was presided over by Minister for Finance Shaukat Aziz also decided to further off-load 5 per cent shares under “green shoe option” in case there were increased applications like that of National Bank of Pakistan whose 10 per cent shares were eventually sold. The exercise will strengthen the stock exchanges, broad-base the ownership and provide benefit to small investors.

The meeting also gave the go-ahead for disinvesting the remaining 9 per cent shares of the Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) through Central Depositary Company (CDC).

The National Bank issue was 5.5 times oversubscribed i.e. against an issue size of 5 per cent for Rs186.5 million, 27,546 applications had been received for 102 million shares amounting to 1.04 billion.

The CCOP also approved the inclusion of Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) in the privatization programme with the direction that all options for the privatization including management control, leasing, etc., should be examined by the Financial Advisors to be appointed for the transaction.

The finance minister told this correspondent after the meeting that off-loading of 5 per cent shares of the Habib Bank will add to the capitalization of the market and that it was good to benefit the people of Pakistan.

He did not believe that the privatization process was slow, and said that next in line was the Pak Saudi Fertilizer Company, which will be put up for sale by April this year.

Responding to a question, he said that the CCOP did not discuss the privatization of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). However, he said that the PTCL’s privatization had already been taken by the Privatization Commission, and that it had a big potential to give good price to the government.

Informed sources said that although nine local and foreign companies have submitted their Expressions of Interest (EoI), Mobilink and a company of Lebanon Prime Minister’s Rafiq Hariri were the serious contenders to buy 26 per cent shares in the PTCL along with transfer of management.

The sources said that the next meeting of the CCOP was expected to approve the disinvestment of 26 per cent of the PTCL, which was expected to offer about one billion dollar. The government was expecting that the new buyer will also inject 300 to 400 million dollar in the company.