Sharif sets in motion privatisation plan

Setting into motion his ambitious privatisation plan to firm up the economy, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today nominated seven private individuals to the Privatisation Commission Board for more transparency.
In a massive privatisation initiative, the Sharif government has decided to sell 26 per cent or more shares of 31 state-owned entities, including Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan Railways.
The government has directed the Privatisation Commission to immediately start the process for sale of 31 public sector entities (PSEs) through initial and secondary public offering and transfer of 26 per cent shares, "along with management control, to the private sector".

As part of this, Sharif nominated industrialists Ghulam Farooq, Miftah Ismail, Chaudhry Arif Saeed, Farooq Khan Chartered accountant Waqar Malik, ex-civil servant Nasiruddin Ahmed and Lawyer Salman Butt as members of the privatisation commission, official sources told PTI.
The stake sale is to fulfill a key condition of the International Monetary Fund's USD 6.7 billion bailout programme.
The list of companies was approved by Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) earlier this month, three days after expiry of the September 30 deadline set by the IMF for giving a detailed plan for these entities aimed at turning around the loss making firms and reducing the government's footprints.

Among the approved 31 entities are the PIA, the PSM, Pakistan State Oil, Islamabad Electricity Supply Company and Gujrawanala Electricity Supply Company.