KARACHI, Feb 10: The signing ceremony of the Term Finance Certificates (TFCs) raised by PIA valued at Rs15.140 billion was held here at a local hotel on Monday with National, Habib and United Banks amidst pledge by Chairman Ahmed Saeed that after turn-around of the airline, it will now strive to win back the ethnic traffic lost to Emirates, Gulf and Qatar airlines.

The ceremonial conclusion of the TFC Launch was signed by Ahmed Saeed on behalf of PIA and Syed Ali Raza, Zakir Mahmood and Aamir Zafar on behalf of National Bank, Habib Bank and United Bank respectively.

Showing confidence in the turned-around of PIA, the TFCs were heavily oversubscribed by 40 per cent.

In the words of Chairman of PIA, Ahmed Saeed, the credit for the credibility gained by the airline, as it stood today, goes to Defence Secretary, Lt-Gen (Rtd) Hamid Nawaz, who was the actual soul leading the team of management.

He paid compliments to Syed Ali Raza, President National Bank who rose to the occasion at a time when PIA had no money to pay even salaries, for the airline’s restructuring and arranged bridge financing.

“We wanted to get rid from incompetent people and those competent ones whom we could not pay at market price. We hired competent financial experts and today we are where we not have been, if our financial position had not improved”.

Ahmed Saeed said that PIA earned a profit of Rs 2.4 billion during 2002 and profit for 2003 has been projected at Rs 3.5 billion and the budget also include a raise in salaries of employees amounting to Rs 1.2 billion for the year.—APP