ISLAMABAD, Nov 27: The privatisation process has come to a standstill after the induction of caretaker government due to which the much-trumpeted scheduled GDR transactions of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) are unlikely to be completed by Dec 30.

Informed sources told Dawn on Tuesday that Pakistan’s already sluggish disinvestment process further received a setback when no minister for privatisation and investment was appointed in the caretaker government.

In the absence of a privatisation minister, who is also supposed to be the chairman of the Privatization Commission, no meeting of the PC Board could be convened, and there was no activity for selling any state sector unit.

Ever since the government banned the movement of the citizens on the Constitution Avenue, (except for government employees) where the office of the Privatisation Commission are located, investors are facing difficulties to reach there to inquire about any transaction, sources added.

Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and former minister for privatization and investment Zahid Hamid had been assuring that the GDRs of NBP and HBL would be completed by Dec 30.

“But one does not see any progress for these two important transactions as people sitting in the Privatization Commission have no work to do these days and this is specially because of the absence of any minister for privatization,” a source said. Sources said planned transaction of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Bank, Hazara Phosphate and Fertiliser Limited and Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) were also not expected to be completed on time.

The mega transaction of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) had already been delayed after having been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Similarly, the second public offering and GDR of Kot Addu Power Company (Kapco) was in the doldrums because of what was termed “ineffective” Privatization Commission.

Sources said a number of transactions were already late even during the previous PML (Q) government due to the growing political instability in the country.

“During Shaukat Aziz’s government, privatisation process had been put in the back-burner and now the caretakers perhaps have also no interest to revive the privatisation process in the country,” another source said.

Two mega transactions -- the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) -- were postponed by the previous government on the insistence of its provincial and national assembly legislators who thought that they needed to offer gas connections to their voters before the Jan 8 elections.

Moreover, sources said the controversial steel mills deal which was scrapped by the Supreme Court in March 2005, was still haunting investors to opt for any transaction.

Sources said ever since political turmoil started in Pakistan, no investment-related conference was convened by the Board of Investment (BoI).

Both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had been calling upon the government to improve the investment climate by achieving certain political stability in order to lure local and foreign investors. Both the donors, sources said, have also urged the caretaker government to address the “image problem” to attract investment across Pakistan.