AAJ TV : Pakistan Ki Awaz

ISLAMABAD : The Privatisation Commission Board, which met here on Tuesday with Finance and Privatisation Minister Naveed Qamar in the chair, decided that financial advisor for Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC) would be directed to work out all options for privatisation of OGDC, including sale of shares, strategic sale with management control or assets sale including Qadirpur gas field on fast track basis, taking into account the observance of all steps strictly in accordance with the legal provisions.

The financial advisor will complete due diligence for OGDC and submit its report to the Privatisation Commission. The Privatisation Commission will ask the financial advisor to complete due diligence for OGDC on priority basis.

The board also decided to invite fresh expressions of interest (EoIs) for privatisation of Jamshoro Power Company (JPCL). Jamshoro Power Company (JPC), located in Sindh, was established as a result of the unbundling of Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). It was organised to take over all properties, rights, assets, obligations and liabilities of three thermal power stations, namely Jamshoro, Kotri and Lakhra, with a total nameplate capacity of 1204 MW. The company was incorporated in August 1998 as a public limited company under Pakistan Companies Ordinance 1984.

The government offers to sell majority 51 percent interest in JPC with management control to a strategic investor or a consortium of strategic and financial investors. The GoP intends to hold 49 percent of the equity beyond privatisation. JPC facilities are located within the environs of Hyderabad with key connections to the NTDC grid to enable power to be injected to major load centers in the South of the country including Karachi.

Naveed Qamar asked the Privatisation Commission to seek assistance of board members to take immediate measures for settling the transfer of title of properties in the name of PTCL as already agreed between the GoP and the buyer in order to ensure expeditious release of tranche by the buyer to GoP.

The Privatisation Commission has already finalised the schedule for privatisation of public sector entities during September-October 2008, which include Global Depository Receipts (GDR) of Kot Adu Power Company (Kapco) for its listing in the international capital market in October 2008, concluding the privatisation process of SME Bank in September 2008 and to hold bidding for the privatisation of 90 percent shares of Hazara Phosphate Fertilisers Limited (HPFL) with management control, Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) and National Power Construction Company (NPCC) during September 2008.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2008