Islamabad:
The government’s renewed push to privatize Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has drawn interest from eight parties, with five formally submitted pre-qualification documents before Thursday’s deadline, the Privatization Commission confirmed.
Among them for filing documentation is a consortium consisting of Lucky Cement, Hub Power Company, Kohat Cement and Metro Ventures.
A separate group including ARIF HABIB CORPORATION, FATIMA FEED, BYSKOARD and LAKE CITY HOLDINGS have also expressed interest in acquiring a majority share in the loss-making national carrier.
AirBlue and Fauji Fertilizer have submitted their documents independently, while an expression of interest from Augment Securities, Serene Air, Bahria Foundation, Mega Holdings and Equitas was also received to participate.
Read more: Deadline to bid on Pia extended to June 19
Of the eight interested parties, Five met on the 19th June submission period for pre-qualification. These devices now have access to a virtual data room as part of the next phase of Due Diligence. The Commission said that all submissions will be assessed against pre -defined eligibility and financial criteria.
Due diligence on the site has already begun, with officials optimistic that the process can attract credible bidders as opposed to previous attempts.
This marks the government’s second attempt to privatize Pia after a failed bid last year. A 2024 auction had attracted only one bid – RS10 billion ($ 36 million) from property developer Blue World City for a 60 percent share. The offer fell well under the government’s floor price of RS85 billion ($ 305 million) and was then rejected.
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This year, the Privatization Commission reopened the process in April and invited expressions of interest from both domestic and international investors to a majority share from 51 to 100 percent in Pia. The original deadline on June 3, 2025 was later expanded to June 19 to accommodate potential buyers.
In an attempt to ensure that only financially viable parties go ahead, the government introduced stricter qualification criteria for this round and explicitly excluded provincial governments in participating in the bidding.
The sale of Pia is expected to be Pakistan’s first major privatization in almost two decades. Review of loss-making state-owned companies such as Pia is an important structural benchmark under the country’s ongoing $ 7 billion program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
