PIA privatisation: Government confident of better bid offers

ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar Thursday said the Pakistan government is confident of better bids for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatisation in the second attempt.

As per details, the PIA privatisation issue was discussed in the National Assembly. Former commerce minister Naveed Qamar raised concerns about the privatisation efforts, recalling a previous unsuccessful attempt during today’s NA session.

“What timeline has been set for this initiative?” he inquired, adding that the privatisation process needs to be carefully planned.

In response, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the government is hopeful for better bids this time as the restoration of our routes to Europe is a positive development.

“This time, we expect better bids and a more favorable outcome,” he said, assuring that lessons from past failures have been incorporated into the current plan.

Tarar said the term of PIA’s former CEO Aamir Hayat has ended, and he has been sent back to his parent department.

The minister pointed out that globally, only a few countries maintain state-run airlines, signaling that privatization might align better with international practices.

Earlier it was reported via sources that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ‘agreed’ to Pakistan’s conditions for International Airlines (PIA) privatization.

According to sources, the IMF reportedly agreed to the elimination of sales tax on aircraft purchase or lease for buyers and the settlement of equity losses for PIA privatization.

With the ‘approval’ of the IMF, the intended buyers will be granted sales tax exemptions for purchasing or leasing aircraft for all routes. The removal of sales tax exemptions and equity losses could increase bidding for PIA to as high as Rs350 billion.

Pakistan International Airlines’ lease agreements will benefit from a monthly sales tax exemption of approximately 8.1 million rupees, sources added.