Image: GB database
Pakistan kicked off a televised auction for state carrier Pakistan International Airlines PIAHa.PSX on Tuesday as the government attempts to push through a long-delayed reform demanded by the International Monetary Fund.
Bids for a majority stake in PIA are scheduled in two phases, with submissions due around 10:45 a.m. (0545 GMT) and a public bid-opening ceremony later in the day, officials said.
The auction is Pakistan’s second attempt at selling the once storied flag carrier after televised bidding last year collapsed when a solitary offer fell far below the government’s reference price, derailing what would have been Pakistan’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades.
Three domestic bidders are expected to participate in Tuesday’s auction after the military’s Fauji Fertilizer withdrew from the process, Privatisation Minister Muhammad Ali told digital media outlet Nukta in an interview last week.
