ISLAMABAD, June 22: Major international donor agencies have asked the government to speed up its privatization programme, especially by dis investing power, transportation and insurance sectors.
Officials told Dawn here on Tuesday that the World Bank, the IMF and the Asian Development Bank wanted the government to set a time frame for disinvesting bigger state sector entities in order to avoid billions of rupees annul losses.
The government was told that now when the federal budget for 2004-05 had been presented and was likely to be approved in the National Assembly by June 26, there was a need to further accelerate the privatization process.
"Donors now expect us to complete our privatization plans quickly with certain time frame so that more attention could be given to the private sector," a source said.
He pointed out that President Pervez Musharraf was expected to chair a high-level meeting soon to further expedite the privatization process. Before that Privatization and Investment Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh would hold a meeting after his arrival from Brazil and the United States within this month.
According to the latest details, the Privatization Commission has so far earned Rs133 billion by disinvesting over 130 state sector enterprises. These include: Habib Bank Limited (Rs23.2 billion); PTCL's 26 per cent shares (Rs34.8 billion); United Bank Limited (Rs11.7 billion); PSO's 51 per cent shares (Rs20.3 billion); National Bank of Pakistan (Lot 2) (Rs767 million); Pak Saudi Fertilizers' 10 per cent shares (Rs815 million); GoP working interest in six oil fields (Rs540 million); Bank Alfalah (Rs620 million); MCB Zares through CDC (Rs661 million); Pakistan Oilfields shares through CDC (Rs4.6 billion); Atock Oil Refinery shares through CDC (Rs1.1 billion); Mutual Right (ICP Lot A & B Fund) (Rs478 million); Al-Haroon Building (Rs83 million); Faletti's Hotel (Rs450 million); Pak Arab Fertilizers (Rs6 billion); OGDCL's five per cent shares through IPO (Rs4.6 billion); NPCC's 100 per cent GoP shares (Rs667 million); FESCO's 56 per cent of GoP shares (Rs2.9 billion); JPC's one per cent of GoP shares (Rs2 billion); National Construction Company Limited (Rs100 million); Lasbella Textile Mills (Rs140 million); Lyllpur Textile Mills (Rs150 million); Bolan Textile Mills (Rs140 million); Pak American Fertilizer (Rs4.5 billion); Republic Motors (Rs45 million); AC Rohri (Rs280 million); and others (Rs100 million).
In 1991, Pakistan had launched a broad-based programme of privatization with several objectives: reducing the drain on government resources caused by losses of state-owned enterprises; improving the efficiency of resource use; and providing greater incentives and opportunities for private sector investments because the high public debt burden made public sector resources for development very scarce.