PIA privatisation enters decisive phase as government pushes landmark sale

WEB DESK: The government is set to move ahead today (Tuesday) with the long-anticipated privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL), a transaction widely seen as one of the most consequential divestments of a state-owned enterprise in recent years.

Three bidders remain in contention for a 75 percent stake in the national carrier after Fauji Fertiliser Company withdrew from the race. The remaining hopefuls include consortiums led by AirBlue, Arif Habib Pvt Ltd and Lucky Cement.

The government, however, has introduced a condition aimed at preventing post-auction manoeuvring. According to Privatisation Minister Muhammad Ali, the two groups that fail to secure the winning bid will be barred from any future involvement in running the airline.

Speaking recently, the minister clarified that unsuccessful bidders will not be allowed to join the successful consortium at a later stage. Only entities that were not part of the bidding process would be permitted to partner with the winning group after the sale.

This provision leaves room for Fauji Fertiliser Company, which exited before the final stage, to collaborate with the eventual buyer should it choose to do so.

As bidding day approached, reports emerged suggesting that informal discussions had taken place between at least two of the competing groups, Arif Habib and Lucky Cement, over a possible shared control arrangement. The proposal reportedly involved dividing management authority among three interested parties.

Journalist Kamran Khan referred to such discussions in a social media post, claiming the idea collapsed after objections from one of the bidders. The Lucky Cement group, led by Muhammad Ali Tabba, was named as the party that declined the proposal.

Both Mr Tabba and a senior government official familiar with the matter confirmed that an interaction had occurred, but stressed it was not facilitated by the government and did not progress beyond an informal exchange. Mr Tabba told Dawn that he remained confident in the transparency of the privatisation process and said he chose not to pursue the suggestion.

According to the Privatisation Commission, sealed bids will be submitted by the competing groups around 10:30am on Tuesday. The reference price for the transaction will only be finalised after bids are received, pending approval from the Privatisation Commission Board and the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation.

The bids will be opened later in the afternoon, at 3:30pm, during a formal ceremony attended by representatives of the bidding parties.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali is expected to address a press conference following the conclusion of the process. Officials said the proceedings will be broadcast live on television and streamed on the government’s official social media platforms.

The authorities are keen to avoid a repeat of the previous failed attempt to privatise the airline. During that exercise, only a single bidder participated, with Blue World City offering Rs10 billion for a 60 per cent stake, far below the government’s reference price of Rs85bn.

Despite being asked to revise its offer, the bidder declined, forcing the Privatisation Commission to call off the sale.

With multiple bidders now in play, the government hopes today’s process will mark a turning point for the heavily burdened national carrier.