Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is expected to be sold to a foreign government after the Privatisation Commission rejected a bid of Rs10 billion from Blue World Consortium. The government plans to sell a 51% to 100% stake in PIA to raise funds and reform state-owned enterprises as part of a $7 billion IMF program.
According to sources, the Rs10 billion bid from Blue World Consortium was turned down because it did not meet the government’s minimum price of Rs85 billion. The airline is now likely to be sold to a foreign government through a government-to-government (G2G) deal, with Qatar and Abu Dhabi being potential buyers.R
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The Strategic Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is considering inviting expressions of interest (EOIs) from foreign investors by November 30. In June, six groups were pre-qualified for the bidding process, but only Blue World City, a real estate company, submitted a bid.
