ISLAMABAD: The chairman of the Arif Habib Group, a prominent Pakistani conglomerate with diversified interests across various sectors, said on Thursday the consortium had submitted its bid to acquire a stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s loss-making national flag carrier.

Expressions of interest are due today, Thursday, for an up to 100 percent stake in PIA as the government moves forward with a long-delayed privatization plan aimed at easing pressure on its strained public finances.

The sale of PIA will be the first major privatization for around two decades. Turning around loss-making state-owned enterprises is a condition of an ongoing $7 billion bailout by the International Monetary Fund.

The government tried unsuccessfully to last year offload a stake in PIA, which is a major burden on its budget, but the sale was aborted because of the poor state of the airline and the conditions attached to any purchase.

“We have submitted our bid for acquiring the PIA stake,” Arib Habib, the chairman of Arif Habib Group, told Arab News. 

The group has a broad portfolio encompassing financial services, including brokerage and investment banking, fertilizers, cement, steel, real estate development, energy, and more. Some of its notable subsidiaries include Arif Habib Limited (AHL), Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited, Aisha Steel Mills Limited, Javedan Corporation Limited, and Sachal Wind Power. 

“This time we are going into this process as a consortium that includes Arif Habib Corporation, Fatima Fertilizers Ltd., Lake City Holdings and City Schools Group.”

In an advertisement issued by the government last month, it had said the deadline for the submission of expressions of interest and Statements of Qualification for the “Divestment of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited through privatization” had been extended to 4pm hours on Thursday, June 19, 2025. It did not provide a reason for the extension. 

No changes had been made to the remaining terms and conditions, the privatization commission had said. 

In April 2025, the commission invited expressions of interest from domestic and international investors to acquire a majority stake, ranging from 51 percent to 100 percent, in PIA, initially setting a submission deadline of Tuesday, June 3, 2025.

According to the public notice, each EOI must be accompanied by a non-refundable processing fee of $5,000 or Rs1.4 million, with consortia required to pay the fee through any one member. Eligible bidders include legal entities such as companies, firms, and corporate bodies, either individually or as part of a consortium.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that among those planning bids are Pakistani conglomerate the Yunus Brothers Group, owners of the Lucky Cement and energy companies, and a consortium led by Arif Habib Limited. Fauji Fertilizer Company, which is part-owned by the military, has also said it will be making an expression of interest.

“The board … has approved submission of an expression of interest and pre-qualification documents to the Privatization Commission … and undertaking a comprehensive due-diligence exercise,” FFC said in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange this week. 

FFC is Pakistan’s biggest fertilizer maker and has diversified interests in energy, food and finance. Any deal on PIA would expand the military group’s footprint into aviation, though final terms will hinge on the government’s privatization process and regulatory approvals.

A group of PIA employees has also come forward to bid.

“The employees will use their provident fund and pension, in addition to finding an investor to place a bid. We’re doing this to save jobs and turn around the company,” Hidayatullah Khan, president of the airline’s Senior Staff Association, told Reuters this week.

This is Pakistan’s second attempt to sell PIA. 

A 2024 auction drew only one offer – Rs10 billion ($36 million) for 60 percent of the airline from real-estate developer Blue World City – far below the government’s Rs85 billion ($305 million) floor price, and was rejected. 

Pakistan had offloaded nearly 80 percent of the airline’s legacy debt and shifted it to government books ahead of the privatization attempt. The rest of the debt was also cleaned out of the airline’s accounts after the failed sale attempt to make it more attractive to potential buyers, according to the country’s privatization ministry.

In April, PIA posted an operating profit of Rs9.3 billion ($33.1 million) for 2024, its first in 21 years.

The airline has for years survived on government bailouts as its operational earnings were eaten up by debt servicing costs.

Officials say offloading the debt burden and recent reforms like shedding staff, exiting unprofitable routes and other cost-cutting measures led to the profitable year.

Ahead of the attempt to sell the airline last year, PIA had faced threats of being shut down, with planes impounded at international airports over its failure to pay bills and flights canceled due to a shortage of funds to pay for fuel or spare parts

With inputs from Reuters