ISLAMABAD, Feb 20: In view of 15 times over-subscription of five per cent shares of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), the government would hold balloting on February 23 to determine successful applicants seeking 1,000 shares each and refund money to others before March 2, 2004.

Investment and Privatization Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh told a news conference here on Friday that the government had offered over 33.6 million shares of SSGC through initial public offering of five per cent shares at Rs26 per share with a green shoe option of another five per cent shares.

Total amount required for 33.6 million shares (five per cent) of SSGC was Rs872.5 million. As many as 258,089 applications were received with subscription money of over Rs13 billion. Of them, 243,116 people have applied for 1000 shares each.

The minister said the government has decided to apply the green shoe option to sell 67.117 million shares that would yield more than Rs1.7 billion and allot these shares to applicants of 1000 shares each through balloting.

Terming the 15 time oversubscribed response as overwhelming and a record, the minister said it also confirmed the peoples' confidence in the economic policies and sale transactions.

He said the SSGC response was even two and half times higher than the eight-times over-subscription of OGDCL for which more than 97 thousand applications were received.

Responding to a question, he said shares in addition to 10 per cent could not be sold to the applicants only because of over-subscription as it would question the credibility of the government decisions and also because over-supply could erode the current stock market momentum as well as the prices.

He said the SSGC success also testified that benefits of privatization were being transmitted to the small investors and the common man. Responding to another question, the minister said five per cent shares along with green shoe option of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would be offered to the general public in March.

The government, he said, owned 67 per cent direct shareholding in PIA besides 20 per cent shares of public sector financial institutions. He explained that there was no plan so far about the strategic sale of PIA.

Replying to a question, Mr Sheikh said initial public offering of 10 per cent shares of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) would be held in April this year and there was no decision as yet whether green shoe option would also be available in this transaction.