KARACHI: Three out of four parties from China that qualified to potentially acquire Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) are no longer interested in the transaction, Pakistan’s caretaker privatization minister said on Thursday.
Pakistan’s caretaker government moved on Thursday to improve governance at state-owned companies and earmarked 10 for privatization or turnaround efforts, as it strives to deliver reforms under a $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout.
Under the IMF loan deal, critical in averting a sovereign debt default, state-owned entities (SOEs) whose losses are burning a hole in government finances will need stronger governance.
As of 2020, the accumulated losses for SOEs amounted to 500 billion rupees ($1.74 billion).
“We are now confronted with a single bidder situation for Pakistan Steel Mills,” Pakistan’s caretaker privitization minister, Fawad Hasan Fawad. said on Thursday.
He said that prior to COVID-19, there were four companies that were interested and qualified to bid for Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), but three of them have backed out for a variety of reasons including global demand for steel.
Fawad added that the caretaker government was in talks with the financial planner appointed for the transaction; and that only PSM’s operational assets were up for sale.
Pakistan has also been discussing outsourcing operations of several of its state-owned assets to outside companies.
In March, it kicked off outsourcing of operations and land assets at three major airports to be run under a public private partnership, a move to generate foreign exchange reserves for its ailing economy.
The government has budgeted only about 15 billion Pakistani rupees ($52.42 million) in receipts from a stalled privatization process in its budget for the fiscal year 2024.
Caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar told reporters under the government’s draft policy on SOEs, the appointment of independent directors will be through a nomination process, adding that no ministry would be able to issue directives to SOEs in order to improve governance.
($1 = 286.9500 Pakistani rupees)
Only one bidder left for Pakistan Steel Mills — privatization minister
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Only one bidder left for Pakistan Steel Mills — privatization minister
- Pakistan’s caretaker government has earmarked 10 state-owned companies for privatization or turnaround efforts
- As of 2020, accumulated losses for state-owned entities amounted to $1.74 billion, caretaker finance minister says
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
