ISLAMABAD - The government has decided to include three more public sector entities (PSEs) including State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) as well as Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and part of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) in Active List of Privatisation Programme.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) to discuss five agenda items related to the ongoing privatisation programme of the government. The meeting approved inclusion of State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) as well as Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and part of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) in Active List of Privatisation Programme. The previous PML-N government had also started the sell-off process of power distribution companies (Discos) but shelved it after the employees including labour unions came on the streets.
The meeting further considered a proposal for delisting of Telephone Industries of Pakistan (TTP) from the Privatisation Programme and approved it in view of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication’s plan to revive the TTP through a joint venture which had already been undertaken in consultation with the TIP employees and Privatisation Commission. According to the summary, the CCoP in November 2018 had asked the Ministry of IT & Telecom (MoIT&T) to carry out a detailed study regarding the current status of TIP and the possibility of its privatisation. The Ministry of IT & Telecom has requested the CCoP to delist TIP from the active list of privatisation so that the organization can be revived.
The CCOP also approved a proposal by the Ministry of Privatisation for following a hybrid option for the privatisation of National Power Parks Management Company Limited (NPPMCL) comprising two RLNG based power plants namely 1223 MW Balloki Power Plant and 1230 MW Haveli Bahadur Power Plant and instructed the Privatisation Commission to complete the bidding process by end December. Under the approved plan, if the highest bidder for both plants remains the same, the bidder would be offered to buy the combined entity and in case the highest bidder for both plants is different, the demerger would become a Condition Precedent (CP) to Transaction Closing (SPA). There would be a divestment of 100 % equity of stake of NPPMCL in respect of both power plants. The government is expecting to generate around Rs300 billion from the privatization of LNG based power plants during ongoing fiscal year. The government in overall would receive Rs800 billion as non-tax collection during current fiscal year. The government would receive Rs Rs200 billion from the cellular companies under licence renewal fee, Rs300 billion from the privatization of LNG power plants and Rs300 billion as profit from the State Bank of Pakistan.
Towards the end, the Privatisation Commission also briefed the CCOP on the 10 public sector entities (PSEs) approved for inclusion in the Active Privatisation List as per CCoP decision on 08.08.2019 and the subsequent process and placement of advertisements for hiring of financial advisers for the selected PSEs including 1) Guddu Power Plant (747 MW) – Central Power Generation Company Ltd-CGPL (GENCO-II), 2) Nandipur Power Plant (425 MW)- Northern Power Generation Company Ltd –NPGCL (GENCO-III), 3) House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC), 4) Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), 5) Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), 6) First Women Bank Limited (FWBL), 7) Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC), 8) Pakistan Engineering Company (PECO), 9) Sindh Engineering Limited (SEL) and 10) Pakistan Re-Insurance Co Ltd. (PakRe)
