The caretaker government has removed the Pakistan Steel Mills from its privatization list of the state-owned entities, says in media reports. The government has issued a new list of the state-owned entities (SoEs) that will be handed over to the private sector under its privatization programme. Overall, 26 SoE will be privatized under the ongoing government programme including four institutions each in financial and real estate sectors. In the new list of privatization, maximum 14 state institutions belong to the country’s ailing energy sector. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the only SoE of the aviation sector in the functional list of the privatization programme. Three institutions of the state’s industrial sector have also been part of the privatization programme. Moreover, the State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) has also been included the privatization programme.

Frome the energy sector Balloki, Haveli Bahadur, Guddu, Nandipur power plants have been part of the privatization list. Moreover, 10 state-owned electricity distribution companies would also been privatized to the private sector under the active list. “The House Building Finance Corporation, First Women Bank, Pakistan Engineering Company and Sindh Engineering Limited have also been in the government’s privatization list.” Services International Hotel Lahore, Jinnah Convention Centre Islamabad and the PIA’s Roosewelt Hotel in New York are the state-owned entities to be privatized under the official list of privatization.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)