However, he said that, in order to make the privatisation process transparent, it has decided to take all relevant authorities and regulators including the NAB and State Bank of Pakistan, on board.
He said that at present, the country's economic situation is gradually improving as current account and trade deficits are reducing, exports growing and tax net is widening. "We believe that privatisation process will attract fresh foreign and local investment in the country," he added.
He said that a substantial portion of 90 percent of the funds generated through privatisation will be utilized for debt retirement, while the remaining amount will be spent on poverty reduction. "We have a huge burden of domestic debt and government wants to generate more funds through privatisation to lessen this burden," he added.
The minister hoped that the first privatisation transaction is most likely to complete by December this year. Replying to a question about the Pakistan Steel Mills, he said it has been removed from the list of privatisation and the government has decided to revive this national institution. Restoration of Steel Mills is top priority of the government to avoid losses, he added.
He dismissed the perception that only loss-making entities are being privatized and said that government's job is not to do business and following this objective profitable entities also being privatised to improve their performance by injecting fresh financing into them. "Some of institutions require more capital injections to grow more and the government is not in a position to invest, therefore some strategic partner are needed to support these institutions," the minister said.
Earlier, Secretary Privatisation Rizwan Malik said that initially under the privatisation program, some 8 transactions have been processed, after which, in the second phase, 41 more entities will be offered for privatization. In addition, some 32 real estate properties have also been included in the privatisation list, he added.
He said the privatisation of Balloki Power Plant and Haveli Bahadur Power Plant has been initiated and their transaction structure is expected in next fifteen days, while the transaction is most likely to complete in the next 5-6 months.
Privatisation of profit-driven enterprises is the continuation of the growth of these institutions and to further improve the operational efficiency and overall performance of entities, he added.
In addition to speeding up the privatisation process, transparency will be ensured, Secretary Privatisation said and added that the process of check and balance and controls is in place in every transaction. Every privatisation transaction will go through various forums such as Evaluation Committee, Transaction Committee, Board of the Privatisation Commission, Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP).
In addition, some other relevant authorities and regulators including National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), will also be taken on board at various stages for fair and transparent privatisation transactions.
He said that 1223 MW Balloki Power Plant, 1230 MW Haveli Bahadur Power Plant, SME Bank Limited, First Women Bank Limited, Services International Hotel, Lahore, Jinnah Convention Centre, Islamabad, Mari Petroleum Limited (divestment of remaining shares), Oil and Gas development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) are on privatisation list. Ashfaq Tola, Khurram Schezad and other board members were also present.