ISLAMABAD: In its efforts to sell the struggling Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the government has received expressions of interest from five parties, including business groups and a military-backed firm, the Privatisation Ministry said on Thursday.
The bids were submitted ahead of a June 19 deadline to acquire up to 100% of the national flag carrier. The government had initially set a June 3 deadline but pushed it forward to allow more time for potential PIA buyers. No changes were made to the terms of the sale.
Eight parties submitted their expression of interests, but only five of them provided documents of qualification, the ministry said in a statement.
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PIA has accumulated over $2.5 billion in losses in roughly a decade. Still, following a major restructuring, it posted its first operating profit in 21 years in the year through June 2024.
The government owns around 96 per cent of PIA through the PIA Holding Company. It is offering a majority stake in the company as part of a broader effort to restructure state-owned enterprises and meet conditions under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme.
The sale is seen as a test of Pakistan’s ability to shed loss-making state firms and meet IMF conditions. It would be the country’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades.
However, this is the second attempt in less than a year to privatise PIA. A previous effort stalled in 2024 after the only bid received, Rs10 billion from the Blue World City consortium for a 60 per cent stake, fell far short of the government’s minimum valuation of Rs85.03 billion.
HUM News English earlier reported that several Pakistani business groups, including Airblue Ltd. and Gerry’s Group, are preparing bids to acquire a controlling stake in PIA.
Airblue’s Managing Director Aslam Chaudhary and Gerry’s Group head Akram Wali Muhammad confirmed their participation in the bidding process for a stake ranging between 51 and 100 per cent in the airline, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Prominent industrialists Muhammad Ali Tabba and Arif Habib have also formed separate consortia to join the race. Habib said his consortium includes Fatima Fertilizer Ltd., Lake City and The City School. Meanwhile, Yunus Brothers Group, controlled by Tabba, is bidding through a separate alliance involving Mega Group, Kohat Cement Co. and Metro Group.
Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd., one of the country’s largest fertiliser producers, also recently submitted an expression of interest, signalling renewed investor appetite for PIA despite its long-running financial troubles.