CABINET COMMITTEE ON PRIVATISATION MEETS-Rs.417 BILLION REALISED THROUGH PRIVATISATION PROCEEDS IN EIGHT YEARS

Islamabad, November 13, 2007

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that privatisation was the hallmark of the Government's economic reforms agenda. Liberalization, deregulation and privatisation were the cornerstone of the government’s economic policy.

The Cabinet Committee On Privatisation (CCOP) was informed that Rs. 417 billion had been received through privatisation proceeds during the last 8 years of the present government compared to Rs. 57 billion only during the previous governments' privatisation from 1991 to 1999.

Presiding over a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) here today, the Prime Minister that said the Privatisation process must be carried forward to sustain the pace of economic growth and competitiveness of Pakistan's economy. The Prime Minister also commended the members of the Privatisation Commission and Privatisation Board for their valuable contribution in carrying out privatisation process in a transparent, open and competitive manner in line with the best international practices.

CCOP was briefed on the privatisation process and was informed that an amount of Rs. 26.9 billion has been received in the first four months of the current financial year (2007-08). The privatisation process included the capital market transactions and strategic
sales.

The Committee was also informed about the ongoing transactions that include the privatization of Heavy Electrical Complex, National Power Construction Company, Hazara Phosphate & Fertilizer Ltd., Pakistan Machine Tool Factory, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company and Jamshoro Power Company.

The meeting was informed that capital market transactions coming up in the next quarter would include GDR of National Bank of Pakistan and Kot Addu Power Company (KAPCO)