The government plans to hold a final auction for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in the first week of October. An official stated that all issues related to PIA’s privatization, including outstanding commercial loans, should be resolved within the next few weeks.
In June, it was announced that six companies qualified to bid for PIA from an initial pool of eight interested parties. The goal is to sell over 51 percent of the airline as part of economic reforms recommended by the IMF for a new $7 billion loan program.
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The central bank recently refused to provide a waiver for PIA’s Rs268 billion ($971.1 million) in commercial loans, complicating the privatization process. Despite this, Dr. Ahsan Ishaq from the privatization ministry confirmed that the auction is set for early October and that efforts are underway to address the loan issue.
The pre-qualified bidders include Air Blue, Arif Habib Corporation, Blue World City, Fly Jinnah, Pak Ethanol Consortium, and YB Holdings Consortium. Although the auction was initially scheduled for August 14, it was delayed due to requests for more time to review the airline’s financial details. PIA is part of a broader privatization plan involving 24 state-owned enterprises, which collectively reported significant losses.
