PUBLIC OFFERING OF PIA's 10 % A CLASS SHARES TO TRANSFER THE BENEFITS OF PRIVATISATION TO THE PEOPLE-say Chairman Divestment Committee

Lahore,, May 31, 2004

The government intends to directly involve the general public in the privatization process and offer the ensuing benefits in a much quicker, transparent and direct manner the divestment of PIAC's shares through the Capital markets is the fourth in the series being offered from June 7 to 9, 2004, during banking hours.

Pir Saad Ahsanndin, Chairman Privatisation Commission's Divestment Committee and Member Board of Privatisation Commission stated this while addressing the first road show for the investors for PIAC shares Public Offering, organized by the Privatisation Commission and the Lead Manager KASB Securities here today.

He said that the earlier public offerings of NBP, OGDCL and SSGC have played significant role in the development, strengthening, broadening and deepening the capital market and it had also transferred the benefits of privatization to the people and increased the value of shares manifold. PC had so far realized Rs.42 billion through the privatization process during the past eighteen months, he said.

Earlier, Mr. Azhar Iqbal of KASB Securities while making a detailed presentation informed that annual growth of 7.8 % has been witnessed in PIAC accounts. He also briefed the audience regarding the salient features of the company's financial performance, restructuring and investment highlights.

Addressing on this occasion Mr. Kaleem Malik DMD of PIAC said that now profitability in the company was on rise and in the first quarter of 2004 Rs.1. 4 billion pretax profit has been noticed. For the year ending December 31, 2004 PIAC has declared a dividend at the rate of 5 %. The existing route network has been increased from 7 to 50 destinations due to fleet modernization while outsourcing of non-core activities and restoring the image as an airline of international repute were among the future strategies, he added.

The briefing was followed by Q & A session. After holding first Road Show at Lahore the Privatisation Commission and Lead Manager KASB Securities for the PIAC shares Public Offering will hold second Road show at Marriott Hotel, Islamabad at 4 p.m. on Tuesday June 01, 2004 as a part of the planned series of Road Shows/marketing presentations to inform the investors of the opportunity to invest in shares of the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines Corporation. Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment will address the event while PIAC Management, Members PC Board, representatives of Stock Exchanges, Brokerage Houses, Chambers of Commerce and Industries, the representatives of the print and electronic media and the general public will be present on this occasion.

The third and final Road Show will be held in Karachi on June 04, 2004. The offer price for the Offer for Sale of up to 10% A Class (115 million) shares of PIAC has been fixed at Rs.20/- per share and applications can be made for 500 shares or multiples thereof through the authorized Banks. The minimum amount of investment would be Rs.10,000/- for buying 500 shares and preference would be given to small investors as per the Government's policy of benefiting the common man. The subscription will open from June 7,2004 to June 9, 2004.

Investors applying for shares for deposit in CDC accounts will not be required to pay any transfer fee. However, investors applying for physical shares through Bankers to offer will have to pay additional 15 Paisa per share applied for. Applications forms will be available in the first week of June 2004 from authorized banks. Forms will also be available at the websites of the Privatisation Commission, lead manager to the offer and PIAC from May 31, 2004 and in the newspapers of June 06, 2004.