The Pakistani government is still on course to auction PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) in the first week of October, according to a Privatisation Commission spokesperson, despite a potential hurdle arising from the country's central bank.
“It has been mutually decided with the pre-qualified bidders to hold the final auction for PIA in the first week of October,” spokesperson Ahsan Ishaq said in a statement cited by local media. Those pre-qualified bidders include AirBlue (PA, Karachi International), Arif Habib Corporation, Blue World City, Fly Jinnah (9P, Karachi International), the Pak Ethanol (Pvt) Consortium, and the YB Holdings Consortium.
The State Bank of Pakistan recently declined to grant a waiver or exemption to prospective buyers regarding PKR268 billion rupees (USD962 million) in commercial loans and other financial guarantees held by PIA, potentially disrupting the government's planned October sale date.
"We have been in touch with the central bank to resolve the issue regarding all outstanding commercial loans of the national carrier before the final bid," Ishaq said about the matter.
The government is attempting to sell between 51% and 100% of loss-making PIA, one of a swag of state-owned entities it wants to wholly or partially offload. Among all state-owned entities, PIA has proven to be among the most costly to taxpayers, and the government hopes privatising it will result in the airline's turnaround.
All six prequalified bidders are domestic entities. However, Pak Ethanol reportedly boasts international consortium members including AsiaPak Investments Limited (Hong Kong), Swiss Aviation Group (Switzerland), Airport Competence (Austria), Pearl Asset Management (Australia), and Capital A Consultancy (Malaysia). YB consortium members include AirSial (PF, Karachi International), Serene Air (ER, Islamabad International), and Liberty Daharki Power Limited.
