ISLAMABAD: The Privatization Commission, Tuesday, informed the standing committee that an amount of US$4.3 million has been paid to the financial advisor, during 2023-24 under the expenditures incurred on privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL).
This was informed by Privatization Commission Secretary here on Tuesday during the 7th meeting of the Standing Committee on Privatization held under the chairmanship of Muhammad Farooq Sattar, MNA at the Ministry of Privatization.
The committee was briefed by the Privatization Commission Secretary regarding expenditures incurred on privatization of PIACL.
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He informed the committee that during 2023-24 an amount of US$4.3 million had been paid to the financial advisor, Ernst and Young, out of a total fee of USD 6.8 million which is 63 per cent and the remaining amount will be paid after second attempt.
He further briefed the committee that the Privatization Commission had carried out valuation of properties to be retained in the PIACL and updated valuations were reflected in the financial statements for the period ending April 30, 2024. The committee directed to provide details of properties handed over to holding companies.
The committee discussed the Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, (government bill) in detail.
The committee raised an objection to Clause 4, Section 7(4), stating that the Ministry of Law must clarify whether there is any precedent where the prime minister has been given the authority to make decisions on the privatisation process instead of Cabinet.
The committee once again directed the Ministry of Law to present relevant details in the next meeting (in written form). Thereafter, the committee deferred “The Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024” (government bill) till its next meeting.
The secretary Privatization Commission briefed the committee that Pakistan Engineering Company, Lahore (PECO) was included for privatisation in August 2024. He informed that the company has no active production line and its staff consists over 32 employees only.
NIT owns 23 per cent shares which were bought from the open market; on the other hand, the Ministry of Industries was of the view that the transactions of these shares are not clear in the stock exchange. The representatives of the private sector briefed the committee about the various problems and stated that Pakistan Engineering Company was a pride for Pakistan.
In 60s, the company was manufacturing aircrafts parts as well and after the management of private sector the loss of the company decreased from Rs2 billion to only Rs700 million.
The committee recommended that Secretary Privatization consulting with the Secretary Industries and Secretary Law may submit a detailed report on it.
The committee directed that the secretary Privatization Commission with the consultation of the other entities must clear it within 40 days and way forward must be submitted.
The committee also recommended that the Ministry of Industries must pay salaries to the employees of PECO before Eid.
The meeting was also attended by MNAs including Anwar ul Haq Chaudhry, Abdul Qadir Khan, Asiya Naz Tanoli, Nazir Ahmed Bhugio, Mubarak Zeb, Sehar Kamran, Mehboob Shah besides the officials of the ministry.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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