ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission (PC) on Thursday temporarily suspended the divestment process of Pakistan Engineering Company Ltd (Peco).

A meeting of the PC board presided over by Abid Hussain Bhayo was briefed on the current status and asked the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP) to take immediate actions to address the issues before proceeding further on the Peco transaction.

The board decided Peco’s privatisation could be considered when the entity is free from the issues and encumbrances.

The board also decided to refer the matter to the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) to direct MoIP, the administrative ministry, to pursue the resolution of Peco-related issues before its privatisation.

In pursuance of the decision by the CCoP, the Privatisation Commission initiated the process and selected Peco from the approved list in 2018, and CCoP a year later endorsed the implementation of Peco divestment.

Some details made available showed that accumulated Government of Pakistan receivables are over Rs7.2 billion from Peco as of June 2022.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is investigating into disposal of Peco shares by NIT whereas the Public Accounts Committee has referred the matter to the Auditor-General Pakistan for a forensic audit.

The PC board also approved the recommendations put forth by the Transaction Committee concerning the House Building Finance Company Ltd (HBFC), marking a positive advancement in the privatisation process.

It also endorsed the organisational arrangement of PC, which includes conducting in-house due diligence on entities proposed for privatisation to enhance the effectiveness of the transaction process.

Additionally, the commission will present meticulously researched policy proposals to the federal government to foster an enabling environment for the privatisation of state-owned enterprises, in line with the functions outlined in the Privatisation Commission Ordinance.

In addition, the meeting also approved the budget estimates of the Privatisation Commission for 2023-24, amounting to Rs1248.8m.

These estimates, categorised under various heads of expenditure, will undergo further approval by the federal government as required by PC Ordinance 2002.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2023