The government’s attempt to privatize its struggling national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has resulted in only one bid being submitted, out of six potential contenders, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Ahsan Ishaq, a spokesperson for the Privatisation Ministry, confirmed that an unnamed bidder had deposited the required “earnest money” with the Privatisation Commission by Tuesday’s deadline, validating the bid’s legitimacy. However, Ishaq did not disclose the identity of the interested party.
Initially, six groups were shortlisted as prospective buyers of PIA shares, including local and regional entities such as Airblue Ltd, Arif Habib Corporation Ltd, Fly Jinnah by Air Arabia, YB Holdings Pvt, Pak Ethanol Pvt, and real estate giant Blue World City. Despite this shortlist, only one entity proceeded with a formal bid.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb recently confirmed plans to privatize PIA in November as part of the government’s commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a 37-month, $7-billion bailout program.
