Real estate developer Blue World City has submitted a bid of Rs. 10 billion to acquire a majority stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), falling short of the government’s reserve price of Rs. 85 billion. The developer has been given 30 minutes to meet the criteria set by the Privatization Commission.
Earlier today, the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) reviewed and endorsed the reference price recommended by the Privatization Commission Board for the divestment of 60 percent of PIA’s shares, contingent upon the terms and conditions outlined in the bidding document.
Initially, the Privatization Commission pre-qualified six bidders for the process. These included Fly Jinnah Limited, Air Blue Limited, Arif Habib Corporation Limited, a consortium led by Y.B. Holdings (comprising Pioneer Cement Limited, Artistic Milliners Limited, ANS Capital Private Limited, and Metro Ventures Private Limited), a consortium led by Pak Ethanol (comprising AirSial Limited, Serene Airlines Private Limited, and Liberty Daharki Power Limited), and a consortium led by Blue World City (comprising Blue World Aviation and IRIS Communication Limited).
Earlier this week, Blue World City was the only one among the six pre-qualified parties to formalize its interest by submitting the required earnest money ahead of the October 29 deadline, in preparation for the bidding date of October 31.
