ISLAMABAD, Sept 4: Fresh instructions have been issued to the officials concerned to further accelerate the privatization process especially by completing the much-delayed transactions like PTCL, KESC and PSO, preferably during the calendar year 2004.

Officials told Dawn here on Saturday that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is expected to chair a meeting of the Privatization Commission Board within this month to quicken the disinvestment process.

The prime minister, the officials say, has asked the authorities concerned to arrangement a meeting of the Privatization Commission Board after the Board of Investment meeting has been scheduled for Monday.

"It will be unfair to say that the privatization process is slow, but it certainly needs to be pushed further," a senior official said.

He said a number of major transactions, including Habib Bank, had been completed despite depressed international economic and business environment. The privatization drive, he said, had been affected due to limited investor interest in the wake of weak global equity markets and regional political uncertainties.

The Privatization Commission has so far received a total of Rs142.5 billion ever since the disinvestment process started in 1991.

According to the latest update made available to Dawn, during the period - from November 26, 2002 to July 31, 2004 - privatization proceeds of Rs49.555 billion had been realized from 18 transactions. The Privatization Commission, in order to ensure participation of the small investors and benefit from the privatization programme, also sold the government of Pakistan shareholding in National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Pakistan Oilfields (POL), Attock Refinery Limited (ARL), D.G. Khan Cement, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) through capital market.

Some of the major transactions completed are: sale of a 51 per cent share of GoP stake in HBL for Rs22.409 billion; sale of GoP shareholding in POL, ARL, and D.G. Khan Cement for Rs5.861 billion; disinvestment of a 30 per cent shares of Bank Alfalah for Rs620 million; sale of management rights of ICP-SEMF for Rs787 million; disinvestment of a 12.2 per cent shares of National Bank for Rs1.387 billion; sale of Associated Cement, Rohri, for Rs255 million; sale of a five per cent (215,046,420 ordinary shares) of OGDCL through capital market for Rs6.881 billion; sale of a 15 per cent shares of Pakistan Petroleum Limited through capital market for Rs5.655 billion; sale of Thatta Cement for Rs793 million; sale of Hotel Hyatt Regency for Rs530 million; sale of a 10 per cent shares of SSGC for Rs1.745 billion through capital market; sale of Falleti's Hotel, Lahore, for Rs1.211 billion; and sale of shares of Kohinoor Oil Mills Limited for Rs80.7 million.