Ten Pakistani companies have expressed interest in buying a majority stake in PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International), including three domestic airlines, according to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.
Fly Jinnah, AirSial, AirBlue, Arif Habib Group, Shujaat Azeem Group's consortium, Tabba, Tariq Group, Omni Group, Pioneer Cement, and Sehgal Group have all reportedly responded to the April 2 Pakistani Privatisation Commission's solicitation to lodge expressions of interest (EOI) concerning the acquisition of 51-100% of the share capital and management control of PIA.
Since that report, a consortium called Uprise Group is believed to have also submitted an EOI. Uprise.Africa, which had unsuccessfully tried to acquire South African Express, is headed by Tabassum "Tabz" Pardesi (nee Qadir), who founded defunct South African carrier SkyWise and was formerly PIA's Director of Customer Services before resigning due to concerns about the airline's management. Submitting an EOI does not oblige the party to participate in any future bidding process. The Privatisation Committee, a Ministry of Finance agency, is using the EOI process to gauge interest in PIA and prequalify potential bidders.
No foreign entities have confirmed participating in the EOI process. However, shortly after its issuance, it was reported that parties from Saudia Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Malaysia, and Türkiye had all shown some interest in PIA.
After extending it for 15 days, the Privatisation Committee's EOI deadline is now May 17. The government hopes to conclude PIA's privatisation by mid-2024.
