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Islamabad, February 14, 2003
The present Government attaches high priority to the Privatisation Program,
which is a corner stone of its economic agenda. a spokesman of the PC stated
that the long-term vision of the present Government is a government that
focuses on good governance and regulation, while fostering conditions that
provide incentives for the private sector to invest in
providing goods and services efficiently. The Government's primary focus will
be to provide good governance and build an enabling environment for
investments and economic growth.
In this regard, the Government is focusing on providing a level playing field
to all investors by ensuring continuity and consistency of policy and
establishment of the requisite fiscal and regulatory framework to protect the
investor and consumer interests.
The spokesman stated that Privatisation was continues to remain an important part of the economic reform process followed by the Government. As such there is continuity and consistency in the program. The process is dynamic and flexible and can cater for any exigencies as demonstrated in the recent past. The recent performance of the stock market and the improvement of the fiscal and monetary position of the Government auger well for the success of the Privatisation process. A manifestation of this is the realization of Rs. 2.7 billion in the shortest span of time of just five weeks through the divestment of Government held shares in Attock Refinery Limited, Pakistan Oil Fields Limited and DG Khan Cement on the stock markets. Appointment of Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, a renowned professional of international repute as Advisor to the Prime minister on Privatisation & Investment as well as the Chairman of Privatisation Commission is another manifestation of the continued government commitment to Privatisation, he added. Privatisation is a complex and demanding reform, and every stage requires utmost transparency and high level of managerial, financial and technical expertise. The bidding dates contained in the annual report are indicative only and dependant upon a number of factors including external geo-political environment and market appetite, he added. The focus of the upcoming transactions has shifted from the privatisation of the more straightforward industrial transactions to those involving the transfer of management control in services such as banking, transport, and utilities. These require sensitive decisions on pricing, restructuring and rightsizing. 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. It will be the endeavor of the government to speed up the Privatisation process, it will ensure that all national and strategic interests are protected before the Privatisation of these entities as the Government will not sell these assets in haste or at a throw away price. These interests will not be sacrificed for the sake of expediency. A number of major privatisation transactions including PSO, OGDCL, PTCL, Habib Bank, KESC and Pak-Arab Fertilizer have been brought to a very advanced stage. These entities are expected to be privatized in the near future keeping in view the market conditions. Steps are also being taken for restructuring and revitalization of various units and liquidation of non-viable and sick units. These steps have curtailed losses and reduced financial hemorrhaging in the public sector and provided jobs where some closed units were reactivated, the spokesman concluded.