Privatisation Commission extends deadline to submit EoIs for PIA

KARACHI: The privatization of the national airline, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has once again been delayed for 15 days, as the Privatization Commission has announced that the Expression of Interest (EoI) would be received from June 19 this year instead of June 3, a notification said here on Tuesday.

The investors EoI for PIA would be received on June 19 this year instead of June 3. The decision has been taken by the all stakeholders because of the Eid-ul-Azha.

According to an advertisement, the privatization commission has extended the deadline for investors interested in PIA privatization by 15 days Applications can now be submitted until June 19, 2025, instead of the earlier date of June 3, 2025.

The extension was granted to accommodate potential investors facing difficulties due to the Eid-ul-Adha holidays.

The official source said that no provincial government is allowed to participate in the privatization process and there is no ongoing negotiation with any foreign government either. Investors could be offered more than 80% of the shares of the airline, the source claimed.

To attract international investors, roadshows will be held in the Middle East as part of the privatization campaign, the source claimed.

The airline has been operating profitably for several months. PIA is now independently covering costs for engines, maintenance, and aircraft payments etc. The London route will be restored ahead of the privatization process.

According to officials, privatization will benefit not only the airline but also the national economy.

Earlier, the report said after assuring the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the airline would be privatised in July, the government has once again extended the deadline to the last quarter of this calendar year, underscoring the challenges it faces in initiating the privatisation process.

The government will also not be able to privatise any other entity in the current fiscal year, missing even its modest target of collecting a nominal Rs30 billion through privatisation proceeds, the reports said.

PIA’s bidding is now expected to take place in the last quarter (October-December) of this year, said Muhammad Ali, the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation, after speaking at the Business Summit organised by Nutshell Group. The adviser spoke at length about the obstacles to the government’s privatisation agenda.

The expression of interest will now be issued on June 19. After that, investors may need three to five months to complete the due diligence process and reach the bidding stage.

The government had approved the transaction structure that requires selling a minimum of 51% of shares in PIA to a private party. It is not clear whether an affiliate of a government ministry or department would be treated as a private party. This should be clarified in the expression of interest documents.

There have been unconfirmed reports about PIA’s profitability, but its accounts have not yet been made public to verify whether the claims refer to operational profits or accounting gains.

The first attempt to privatise PIA in October last year failed because the government ended up with only one bidder. Two other bidders backed out due to disagreements over tax waivers and clearing the remaining balance sheet.