Only one bidder left for Pakistan Steel Mills — privatization minister

A man walks past machines at the hot strip mill department of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) on the outskirts of Karachi on February 8, 2016. (REUTERS/File)

• Pakistan’s caretaker government has earmarked 10 state-owned companies for privatization or turnaround efforts
• As of 2020, accumulated losses for state-owned entities amounted to $1.74 billion, caretaker finance minister says

KARACHI: Three out of four parties from China that qualified to potentially acquire Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) are no longer interested in the transaction, Pakistan’s caretaker privatization minister said on Thursday.
Pakistan’s caretaker government moved on Thursday to improve governance at state-owned companies and earmarked 10 for privatization or turnaround efforts, as it strives to deliver reforms under a $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout.
Under the IMF loan deal, critical in averting a sovereign debt default, state-owned entities (SOEs) whose losses are burning a hole in government finances will need stronger governance.
As of 2020, the accumulated losses for SOEs amounted to 500 billion rupees ($1.74 billion).
“We are now confronted with a single bidder situation for Pakistan Steel Mills,” Pakistan’s caretaker privitization minister, Fawad Hasan Fawad. said on Thursday.
He said that prior to COVID-19, there were four companies that were interested and qualified to bid for Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), but three of them have backed out for a variety of reasons including global demand for steel.
Fawad added that the caretaker government was in talks with the financial planner appointed for the transaction; and that only PSM’s operational assets were up for sale.
Pakistan has also been discussing outsourcing operations of several of its state-owned assets to outside companies.
In March, it kicked off outsourcing of operations and land assets at three major airports to be run under a public private partnership, a move to generate foreign exchange reserves for its ailing economy.
The government has budgeted only about 15 billion Pakistani rupees ($52.42 million) in receipts from a stalled privatization process in its budget for the fiscal year 2024.
Caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar told reporters under the government’s draft policy on SOEs, the appointment of independent directors will be through a nomination process, adding that no ministry would be able to issue directives to SOEs in order to improve governance.
($1 = 286.9500 Pakistani rupees)