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Privatisation plan will remain on track: Prime Minister
 

Arif Rana

ISLAMAABAD (May 30 2006): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday announced that despite moving the court of law by an individual against Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) sell-off, the government's future privatisation plan will remain on track.

The Prime Minister said every individual has the right to move the court of law for remedy in any case, but it does not primarily mean that the government should change its policy. He refrained from further comments on PSM sell-off, saying the case was pending with the court of law for hearing and he was not supposed to divulge on it.

Shaukat Aziz termed the privatisation plan as extremely successful and vowed that the government will follow it vigorously for public sector entities' sell-off in the future.

He said the privatisation was paying good dividend and sold out entities were playing better role for quick economic growth. He quoted KESC case as a ready reference and told the media men that the second largest power distribution company was today in a better position to serve the consumers. The Prime Minister said KESC's new management had given him a detailed presentation on its performance and the future outlook, which indicated that it will have state of the art technology to serve the consumers.

The Prime Minister said setting up of a fund by BMA and Abraaj was an encouraging development and hoped that other funds will follow the suit. He said that Abraaj was a major fund, operating in different areas of Middle East and its coming into Pakistan was an indicative of its sustained developed economy. He said that the fund will be operated and managed by BMA and Abraaj and the government will ensure it a conducive atmosphere for investment in different areas. He said Pakistan now stands as a fast growing economy in the region with 6-8 percent growth rate per annum. He gave the credit of economic growth to the reforms introduced during the last few years and expressed confidence that Pakistan will maintain high growth rate between 6 and 8 percent in the future.

Abraaj's Arif Naqvi, an overseas Pakistani, said BMA and Abraaj will work as a catalyst to attract investment for Pakistan. He said Abraaj was a big fund having its clientele from 20 countries.

He said Pakistan's economy was growing fast and the international fund like Abraaj were keen to play their role in seeking investment to expedite the process of development, besides getting good return for their clients.

Source: Business Recorder (30 May 2006)