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Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment and
Mr. Jahangir Khan Tareen Federal Minister for Industries, Production and
Special Initiatives have directed all the concerned officials in an
inter-ministerial Steering Committee meeting held here today for early
resolution of critical issues pertaining to the privatisation of Pakistan
Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) as all issues have to be settled ahead of
privatisation to complete the transaction in a transparent and smooth manner.
They reaffirmed their commitment to privatise PSMC on fast track basis as per
directives of the Prime Minister. The concerned officials assured both the
Ministers that all the major issues would be resolved during the given target
period.
Presently, six (6) potential bidders are taking part in the process of due
diligence. These are 1. Al-Tuwairqi Group, Saudi Arabia, 2. Azovstal Steel,
Ukraine, 3. Government of Ras Al Khaimah, 4. International Industries Limited
Pakistan with Donbass, 5. Ukraine and Magnitogorsk Iron & 6. Steel Works,
Russia.
Nineteen (19) parties had submitted Expression of Interest (EOI) in response
to the invitation to qualified strategic Investors interested for acquiring
51-75 % equity stake in Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (Pvt.) Ltd. ("PSMC"
or the "Company"), together with management control, on an 'as is, where is'
basis while 12 submitted SOQs.
PSMC is the country's largest and only integrated steel manufacturing plant,
with an annual designed production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes. It was
incorporated as a private limited company in 1968 and commenced full-scale
commercial operations in 1984. PSMC complex includes coke oven batteries, a
sintering plant, blast furnaces, steel converters, bloom and slab casters,
billet mill, hot and cold rolling mills, galvanizing unit and 165MW of own
power generation units, supported by various other ancillary units. It is
located 30km south east of the coastal city of Karachi, in close proximity to
Port Bin Qasim, with access to a dedicated jetty, which facilitates import of
raw materials. PSMC manufactures a wide mix of products, which includes both
flat and long products. PSMC effectively enjoys a captive domestic market due
to the prevalent demand-supply imbalance in the country's steel industry,
where demand has historically exceeded local supply.
At the back of sustained improvements in Pakistan's macroeconomic environment,
the demand for steel in the country is expected to grow further. PSMC is
uniquely positioned to take advantage of the expected demand growth as
adequate infrastructure is already in place to cater to capacity expansion.
PSMC also strives to maintain high quality and environmental standards and in
this regard has received ISO 9001, ISO 1400-1 and SA 8000 certifications,
along with the Environmental Excellence Award 2005.
The meeting on the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC)
was also attended by Mr. M. Tahsin Khan Iqbal Secretary Privatisation
Commission, the Chairman PSMC and Representatives of Ministry of Industries,
Production & Special Initiatives, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Law and
Human Rights, CBR, SECP, Sindh Government, Privatisation Commission and
Citigroup the Financial Advisor for privatisation of PSMC.