According to the Privatisation Commission, the bidding for the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will take place today (Thursday) at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad. Bids will be submitted at 1:30 PM and opened at 6:30 PM.
The privatization will follow strict regulatory guidelines and legal protocols, as previously reported by Business Recorder. However, buyers have introduced new conditions regarding the airline’s employees.
Six groups were shortlisted for bidding, including Airblue Ltd., Arif Habib Corporation Ltd., Fly Jinnah (affiliated with Air Arabia), Y.B. Holdings Pvt., Pak Ethanol Pvt., and the real estate consortium Blue World City. Despite this, Bloomberg reported that only one bid was received, representing a major setback in one of the country’s key privatization ventures.
It has been confirmed that Blue World City, a Pakistani real estate firm, is the sole bidder for a stake in PIA. Saad Nazir, the Chairman of Blue World City, informed Reuters via text that his company is the only one proceeding to the final bidding stage but did not disclose the amount of earnest money submitted.
The Pakistani government is looking to privatize PIA fully, with the aim of selling between 51% and 100% of the airline as part of reforms required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in conjunction with a $7-billion bailout package. The privatization process has faced delays, with bidders raising various concerns, and will now be subject to strict oversight.
