ISLAMABAD, March 19: The Privatisation Commission has prepared a plan to raise $2 billion and to complete eight major transactions during the next financial year.

“We expect to close the current financial year by earning about $2 billion and for 2008-9 the Privatisation Commission has proposed to collect $2 billion despite the overall sluggish international business environment,” the commission’s secretary, Ahmed Jawad, told Dawn on Wednesday.

He said that besides the disinvestment of smaller state sector entities, some major transactions would be completed, including the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company, Jamshoro Power Company, 10 per cent Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation, coal and salt mine companies, Pakistan Machine Tool Factory, Services International Hotel, Printing Corporation of Pakistan and the remaining 62 per cent shares of Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL).

He said the Global Depository Receipts (GDR) of the Oil and Gas Development Corporation were expected during the next financial year.

He said the OGDC was a very big company and a lot of interest was being shown by bidders. It was a strategic transaction that required huge efforts, he said.

Privatisation of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) was another important transaction expected to be finalised during the next financial year, he said.

Responding to a question, he said privatisation worth Rs27 billion had taken place. He expressed the hope that the figure would reach Rs100 billion by June 30. He said the target for the year was Rs114 billion but it was unlikely to be met because of the slowing down of the process earlier in the year.

He said some large transactions would be completed during the current financial year, including the GDRs of the National Bank, Habib Bank and Kot Addu Power Company.

Mr Jawad said the National Power Construction Company, Heavy Electrical Complex, Hazara Phosphate, some units of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation and the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Bank would be sold during 2007-8.

He said the Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and AKD Securities had been appointed financial advisers for the disinvestment of the NBP. The commission was in the process of appointing a financial adviser for the HBL, he said.

In reply to a question, he said $9 billion had been collected as privatisation proceeds since the beginning of the process in 1991, while India earned only $2 billion during the period.

He said that under the law, 90 per cent of the proceeds were to be used to retire debt and 10 per cent for poverty alleviation.

Mr Jawad said he had met a World Bank delegation which had expressed appreciation of the performance of the Privatisation Commission.

About allegations of non-transparency in the privatisation process, he said the Privatisation Ordinance had laid down a very transparent procedure and nobody could deviate from it. Once an invitation for the Expression of Interest (EoI) was issued, there was no way to change any information contained in it. Therefore, there was no chance of any irregularity, he said.

“All the bids are evaluated by the Privatisation Commission Board and these are approved by the CCOP comprising 18 members of the cabinet,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mr Jawad said the government was encouraging Voluntary Separation Schemes (VSS) in various state enterprises by offering 50 per cent funds. The organisations offering the schemes did not remove their employees for one year, he said.

When asked if all the 62 per cent remaining shares of the PTCL would be off-loaded, he said it depended on circumstances but some of the shares would certainly be sold.