The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) Friday approved the summary tabled by the Privatization Commission Board, recommending the highest bid of about Rs 1.96 billion received after auction proceedings for privatization of Services International Hotel, Lahore.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, presided over the meeting that was attended by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Privatization Muhammad Mian Soomro, Federal Secretaries, Chairman SECP and other senior officers.
Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood joined the meeting through a video link. Moreover, the Secretary Privatization Commission Board updated the participants about the actions being taken to privatize or restructure entities with respective timelines.
Priority SOEs for privatisation:
-SME Bank
-First Women Bank
-Re-gasified LNG-based power plants
-Mari Petroleum Company Limited
-Services International Hotel Lahore/Jinnah Convention Centre Islamabad.— Hasaan Khawar (@hasaankhawar) February 21, 2020
The Finance Minister directed to accelerate the whole process with due diligence in order to bring efficiency into the public sector.
He further stated that the government was firmly committed to the reform agenda focusing on improving the functions of the State-owned Enterprises to make them profitable and sustainable.
Privatisation of DISCOs
The Privatisation Commission (PC) in March has finalized proposals for the participation of the private sector in the management of 10 power distribution companies (Discos) and the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) will take up the issue in its next meeting.
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As per a statement released in this regard, the development came during the third meeting of the PC Board chaired by Federal Minister for Privatisation, Mohammed Mian Soomro, on Wednesday. Power Adviser Tabish Gohar also attended the meeting.
The board was briefed about the plans and options for the private sector’s participation in the DISCOs’ management considering the decisions of the CCoP meeting held on March 18 and about the latest progress made in the transactions of different entities.
The management contracts would improve the service delivery and thus, serve the larger interest of electricity consumers in Pakistan.
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The PC had sought information from the power division of the ministry of energy concerning the financial, technical, and commercial status of Discos in addition to the audited financial statements, profit and loss accounts, tariff determinations by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).
APP with additional input by GVS News Desk