Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Unveils Broader Plan To Sell Most State-Owned Firms

By himalaya Diary News Service On May 14, 2024

SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT - NOVEMBER 08: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country experienced devastating floods earlier this year, attends the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit (SCIS) of the UNFCCC COP27 climate conference on November 08, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The conference is bringing together political leaders and representatives from 190 countries to discuss climate-related topics including climate change adaptation, climate finance, decarbonisation, agriculture and biodiversity. The conference is running from November 6-18. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Pakistan will privatise all state-owned enterprises, with the exception of strategic entities, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday, broadening its initial plans to sell only loss-making state firms to shore up its shaky finances.

The announcement came after Sharif headed a review meeting of the privatisation process of loss-making state enterprises (SOEs), according to a statement from his office, which discussed a roadmap for privatisation from 2024 to 2029.

“All of the state-owned enterprises will be privatised whether they are in profit or in losses,” Sharif said, adding that offloading the SOEs will save taxpayers’ money.

The statement didn’t clarify which sectors would be deemed strategic and non-strategic.

The announcement came a day after an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission opened talks in Islamabad for a new long-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF), following Pakistan’s completion of a $3 billion standby arrangement last month, which had averted a sovereign debt default last summer.