ISLAMABAD: The government will release an advertisement next week to invite new bidders for the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), according to the privatization ministry.
Media reports indicate that the government’s first attempt to privatize PIA, which did not succeed, cost $4.3 million, as shared with the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation on February 26.
Last month, Privatisation and Investment Minister Abdul Aleem Khan stated that the government aims to complete PIA’s privatization by May. The privatization commission also approved a plan to sell 51 to 100 percent of PIA’s shares for the second attempt.
The ministry said the privatization commission, led by Muhammad Ali, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation, met today and approved the criteria for selecting potential bidders for 51 to 100 percent of PIA’s shares. A new advertisement for PIA’s privatization will be published next week, and the meeting will continue tomorrow to discuss remaining topics.
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Earlier this month, a PIA spokesperson announced that the airline’s board approved its 2024 financial results, showing a net profit for the first time in about 21 years. PIA recorded an operational profit of Rs3.9 billion and a net profit of Rs2.26 billion, with an operating margin of over 12 percent, comparable to top global airlines.
PIA started facing losses in 2011 and needed government support. By 2016, its debt reached $3 billion, and by 2018, it grew to $3.3 billion from $2.97 billion the previous year, requiring government bailouts to keep operating.
In June last year, the government agreed to reform struggling state-owned companies, including PIA, as part of a $3 billion IMF bailout deal. However, in February 2024, before the general elections, the election commission asked the caretaker government to pause finalizing the privatization deal.
