PIA Privatization Bid: Arif Habib Consortium Offers Rs121bn

The PIA privatization bid moved ahead as the Arif Habib Consortium offered Rs121 billion in the second phase of bidding.

The government continues the bidding process for the privatization of the national airline in stages.

Privatization Commission Adviser Muhammad Ali said the PIA privatization bid is part of a wider reform plan. He said the government does not want to sell the airline blindly, and he added that the goal is to make PIA stable and functional again. Advisor said privatization will attract new investment into the country.

Read Also: National Airline Privatization First Phase Completed

He said the government wants PIA to return to its past performance, and confirmed that bidders will place bids today for 75 percent shares of the airline. Advisor Muhammad Ali added that 92.5 percent of the bidding amount will go directly to improving PIA.

He also said bidders can pay two-thirds of the amount at the start. They can pay the remaining one-third later. He added that bidders can include two additional partners after submitting their bids.

In the first phase, Lucky Consortium offered Rs101.5 billion. Airblue submitted a bid of Rs26.5 billion. The Arif Habib Consortium had earlier offered the highest bid of Rs115 billion.

In the second phase, Lucky Consortium increased its offer to Rs120.25 billion. The Arif Habib Consortium topped it with a new offer of Rs121 billion.

The government expects the PIA privatization bid to strengthen the airline and improve its future operations.