ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) approved on Tuesday the issuance of Scheme of Arrangement (SOA) by the Privatisation Commission (PC) for the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).

The CCoP directed PC to expedite the process of soliciting Expression of Interest and make efforts to close the transaction at the earliest.

The approval has now paved the way for PC to file the SOA with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). This will include updated financial reports of the PSM and its subsidiary, approved by the Privatisation Com­mission Board for transferring the utility connections to the newly formed subsidiary without encumbrances, approval for the retention of the new subsidiary either by the government of Pakistan or PSM and the desired size of divestment among others.

The CCoP has already approved the transferring of ‘Identified Core Ope­rating Assets’ into wholly-owned subsidiary of PSM through the scheme of arrangement as provided in the Companies Act of 2017, followed by the sale of majority shares of the newly-formed subsidiary (without transferring of full ownership) to strategic private sector partner.

PC Secretary Hassan Nasir Jamy briefed the committee about the progress made with reference to the decisions taken during the last meeting of the CCOP held in June. The committee examined the substantive arguments for proceeding further with reference to the transaction structure for revival of PSMC.

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, who chaired the meeting, appreciated the efforts of all concerned ministries and departments for their valuable contribution in the revival of PSM. Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bak­htyar, Minister for Priva­tisat­ion, Moha­mmadmian Soomro, Adv­iser to the Prime Minister on Inst­itutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain, SECP chairman, federal secretaries and other concerned senior officials attended the meeting.

It may be recalled that for the revival of PSMC, the transaction structure was approved in December 2020, according to which a subsidiary was to be formed for transferring the identified assets and subsequent sale of majority shares of the newly formed subsidiary without transferring the ownership.

Meanwhile, a pre-bid meeting for the privatisation of Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) was held on Tuesday at the Privatisation Commission. The meeting was chaired by privatisation minister and attended by financial advisers, HEC representatives and pre-qualified bidders.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2021