Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg

37 consultants and nearly a dozen financial advisers, several of whom are to be
paid hefty amounts in foreign exchange, whether or not the units are privatized.
Foreign financial advisors appointed by Commission during last one year include
the following:
Pakistan Telecommunications. Goldman Sach and Company.
Pakistan Railways. Hackling and CIE.
Karachi Electric Supply Corp. Union Bank of Switzwrland
Sui Northern Gas Pipeline. Rothschild and Sons.
Sui Southern Gas Company. Rothschild and Sons.
Industrial Development Bank. Sooper and Lybrand, Faisal Bank.
United Bank Limited. Society General/ AMZ Securities.
A Privatization Formula Rooted in Corruption, Further
Being Corrupted
The formula worked out by Privatization Commission in 1991 passed on the
liabilities of the privatized units to people of Pakistan and assets to new
owners. It appears in hindsight, that those who designed it, were not interested
in fetching a fair price of the privatized units, but to facilitate their sale to
favourites at throwaway prices.
The most important step in privatization n Pakistan or anywhere else, is
evaluation or putting the price tag on the units marked for privatization. Next in
importance is the decision whether the units should be sold through stock
exchange or auction. If they were to be sold through auction, should government
divest all its shares or simply majority shares?
The formula worked out by Privatization Commission provided different
approaches for units of different catagories. It provided that for industrial units,
bids should be invited for majority shares i,e 51 percent of equity. However the
management of the privatized industrial units was to be handed over to the new
owners after a down payment of 40% of bid price (for 51% shares).
In case of banks, bid were invited for 26% of the equity but the new management
was rrequired to acquire the balance of 74% of shares over a period of time. In
respect of utilities like Pakistan Telecommunication, WAPDA, KESC and gas
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