LAHORE- The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) on Tuesday strongly supported early privatization of SOEs. PBC is of the view that most of the SOE are losing money and, that even the profitable ones are underperforming. “The SOE are a major drain on the public exchequer with the quality levels of their service delivery needing major improvements which would not be possible unless they are privatized” read the PBC statement. Without commenting on the mechanics of the privatization process, the PBC has urged the govt to develop a privatization strategy for each entity which takes into cognizance the dynamics of the industry in which a particular SOE operates in.
The PBC statement requested to the government to ensure that the privatization process is expeditiously carried out in a transparent manner- SOEs for privatization is clearly identified & time lines set for them. The PBC is a not-for-profit business policy advocacy forum registered under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984. The PBC membership comprises 46 of Pakistan’s largest business groups including multinationals.
The PBC members contribute more than 12% of Pakistan’s GDP and 15% of the Tax collected in Pakistan.