KARACHI: Pakistan’s government on Tuesday approved a plan to sell a 30 percent stake in the state-run Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) and transfer management control to the National Logistics Corporation (NLC), as Islamabad accelerates a broader privatization push.
Pakistan has been pursuing privatization and restructuring of loss-making state-owned enterprises as part of wider IMF-backed structural reforms aimed at reducing pressure on public finances, improving efficiency and attracting private investment. The government last year completed what officials described as a landmark privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), while authorities recently approved plans to sell majority stakes and management control in three state-owned electricity distribution companies.
The move also marks the latest step in efforts to restructure PNSC, Pakistan’s national shipping carrier, which operates a fleet transporting dry bulk and liquid cargo globally and has also expanded into logistics and real estate operations. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the proposed acquisition of a 30 percent stake in the company by the military-backed NLC alongside the transfer of management control.
“The ECC [Economic Coordination Committee] also granted in-principle approval for restructuring of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) through sale of 30 percent shareholding and transfer of management control to National Logistics Corporation (NLC), submitted by Ministry of Maritime Affairs,” the Finance Ministry said in the statement after an ECC meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
“The ECC directed the concerned authorities to expedite the process in view of tapping the emerging maritime and transshipment opportunities,” it added.
Pakistan has increasingly sought to position itself as a regional trade and logistics hub connecting South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, while officials have also highlighted the strategic importance of maritime trade routes and transshipment opportunities linked to Gwadar and Karachi ports.
Separately, the ECC approved several technical supplementary grants, including nearly Rs3.9 billion ($14 million) for the Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme and the establishment of Danish schools in Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan.
The committee also approved Rs1.5 billion ($5.4 million) for the Prime Minister National Health Programme and endorsed a national gemstone policy aimed at boosting exports, formalizing the sector and promoting modern mining practices in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
