PIA finds new bidder after failing to attract buyers in 1st attempt

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Friday found another bidder after the Blue World Consortium floated just a Rs10 billion bid, Rs75 billion less than the minimum offer set by the Pakistani government for the sale of the national flag carrier.

This time the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has shown interest in buying the national airline.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Board of Investment and Trade has written a letter to Privatisation Minister Abdul Aleem Khan and said that the provincial government too wanted to take part in the bidding process for the PIA.

According to the letter, the Khyber Pakhunkhwa government has said that it would offer a higher bid than Blue World Consortium’s Rs10 billion bid. It said the PIA is a key national asset and a symbol of Pakistan’s pride and national identity.

In the letter, the KP government said they are waiting for the privatization ministry’s response to their request and they will present their recommendations at the time of the meeting. It said the PIA should remain under the control of the Pakistani government instead of falling into the hands of a private or foreign investor.

On Thursday, the final bidding process for the PIA privatisation attracted just one bid of Rs10 billion for a 60 per cent stake. According to the Privatisation Ministry of Pakistan, the government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only real-estate development company Blue World City participated in the bidding process, placing a bid that was below the government-set minimum price of Rs85 billion.

Pakistan was looking to offload a 51-100pc stake in debt-ridden PIA to raise funds and reform state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The Privatisation Commission said it had asked the bidder to match the minimum bid. Blue World City Chairman Saad Nazir however stood by his bid. “We wish the government all the best if they don’t want to accept our bid,” he said.