ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s leading consortium, Arif Habib group, has won Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatisation bid with the highest offer of Rs 135 billion here at a ceremony on Tuesday.
The PIA bidding ceremony was held in Islamabad on Tuesday, where top political leadership and the business community were present. Three major companies submitted their offers, which include private carrier Airblue, Arif Habib Consortium and Lucky Consortium.
In the second phase of the bid, the starting from Rs 115 billion, which was the highest offer from the Arif Habib group, followed by the Lucky consortium, which had submitted an offer of Rs 101 billion.
Pakistan’s leading company, Arif Habib Group, eventually won the bid by offering the highest offer of Rs 135 billion, where Lucky Consortium had given Rs 134 billion last offer; hence, Arif Habib emerged the winner of the national carrier.
Read also: Three bidders come forward for PIA privatisation bid
Three major business companies have submitted bids for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) during a ceremony on Tuesday. Arif Habib emerged as the largest bidder, followed by the Lucky consortium.
Three pre-qualified consortia have participated in the bidding for the privatisation of the national airline, PIA.
Consortium One, which includes Lucky Cement, Hub Power, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures, has submitted a bid of Rs 101.5 billion for PIA.
Consortium Two, consisting of the Arif Habib Group, Fatima Fertiliser, City Schools, and Lake City Holdings, has placed the highest bid at Rs 115 billion.
Consortium Three, represented by Air Blue Private Limited, has bid Rs 26.5 billion.
Muhammad Ali, Chairman of the Privatisation Commission, stated that the privatisation of PIA is a crucial part of the government’s reform agenda. He mentioned that in April, it was decided to sell between 51% to 100% of PIA’s shares, with 75% of the shares to be sold at a later stage.
