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One fundamental characteristic of investors in the
high value strategically important privatisations is
that they look at the long-term opportunities in a
country and as such are not greatly affected by
day-to-day political events. A spokesperson for
Privatisation Commission stated here today while
commenting on the impression that political crisis
hindering major entities sell off carried by a section
of the press.
He said that the fact that Habib Bank Limited (HBL)
has been able to generate substantial interest
representing investors from USA, Canada, Europe, UK
and Middle East was a testament to the fact that
investors were looking at Pakistan favorably and have
a positive long-term view of the country. Such
unprecedented interest would never have been received
were the so-called 'political situation' such a major
issue, therefore, any impression to attribute delays
in PSO and PTCL transactions to the events having no
bearing on them were totally misleading and incorrect,
he added.
The spokesperson further stated that PSO and PTCL
were very much on schedule and were expected to take
place well within the time frame agreed with the
potential investors. While it would be the endeavor of
the government to accelerate the privatisation
process, it would also ensure that all national
strategic interests were protected before
privatisation of these entities and these interests
would not be sacrificed for the sake of speed, he
said.
He added that it was, however, a fact and an
achievement that PSO, PTCL and HBL had been taken to a
level where they had been successfully taken to the
market and had attracted serious investors and taking
them to bidding stage was dependant to a great degree
upon the international business climate and investors
interest. The government had to tread the fine line
between retaining quality investors and setting an
aggressive timeline, he said.
He explained that privatisation was a complex and
demanding reform, and every stage required utmost
transparency and high level of managerial, financial
and technical expertise. Furthermore, the
privatisation process was dependent upon lot of
external factors such as stable regional situation,
international market trends and investors interests,
he said.
The Privatisation Program includes transactions
involving the transfer of management control in
services such as banking, telecommunication, power,
oil & gas and industrial sectors. These requiresensitive decisions on pricing, tariff and
restructuring issues. As such a lot of preparatory
work needs to be done in the form of improving the
enabling environment and establishing and
strengthening regulatory framework. They are in
essence separate from political process and have a
rhythm and momentum of their own.
PC spokesperson stated that the privatisation program
was an important part of the economic policies of the resent government and would continue to play an
important part in further stimulating the economic
development through increased capital formation,
widespread ownership of the privatized assets and
reduction in the burden of subsidies. In this regard
the government is focusing on two broad areas. First,
building up stable governance and environment that
encourages investment and second, helping to create a
suitable physical and technological infrastructure
required for unhindered economic development of our
rapidly growing society, he said.
It mat be recalled that the country until recently
passed through a turbulent period in light of various
external shocks to the economy like the 9/11 event,
Afghanistan crisis, amassing of troops by India at our
Eastern borders and terrorist activities inside the
country. In spite of these shocks the consistent
economic policies of the government have continued to
maintain the economic recovery and reform process in
the country. This is evident from the buoyant stock
market, which is reflective of the bullish investor
sentiment with respect to the economy of Pakistan, he
concluded.