The Privatisation Commission Board made sweeping decisions on Friday affecting several major assets, including cancelling the House Building Finance Company sale, restarting the Roosevelt Hotel process and adding Islamabad International Airport to the privatisation programme.
At its 247th meeting, the Board recommended scrapping the negotiated sale of a 51 percent stake in House Building Finance Company after Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company emerged as the only bidder, offering just Rs4.2 billion against the Rs13.55 billion reference price approved by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation. The Board advised restarting the process with a new financial adviser.
For New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, the Board cancelled the hiring process for a financial adviser and ordered fresh expressions of interest after eligible parties dropped from seven to just two following legal and technical screening.
The Board also recommended including Islamabad International Airport in the privatisation programme through a concession-based model via open, competitive bidding. This follows a Cabinet Committee ruling on January 1 that rejected a government-to-government sale. The Commission was authorised to negotiate directly with the Asian Development Bank to serve as financial adviser.
Additionally, the Board approved forming a transaction committee for privatising Hyderabad Electric Supply Company and Sukkur Electric Power Company, which will review deliverables from financial adviser Raiffeisen Investment.
The Commission emphasised all transactions would follow transparent, competitive processes to maximise returns for the national treasury.
