Islamabad: The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) is set to deliberate on the privatisation of five public-sector entities in its upcoming meeting; formerly scheduled to be held soon after Eid — a news source reported on August 1.
According to the sources, during its meeting the committee will deliberate on the transaction structure for the privatisation of these public companies. These include the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFCL); Services International Hotel (SIH), Lahore; Jinnah Convention Center (JCC); First Women Bank Limited (FWBL); and Pakistan Reinsurance Company Limited.
As per the information available, the government will divest all its shares in HBFCL and the majority of those in the FWBL. In addition, the government will divest its shares down to 59% in the profitable Pakistan Reinsurance Company. Finally, the SIH and JCC properties will be sold through competitive bidding.
The matter will be placed before the cabinet after the CCOP has finalised the transaction structure and other related details.
The privatisation of these enterprises has already been approved by the Privatisation Commission (PC). The PC has instructed that all the minor legal requirements needed to fetch the highest possible value for the said properties should be completed in a timely manner. These legal formalities include NOCs, approvals, and land-use conversion applications.
