Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg

Dawn from its Washington correspondent said Occidental of USA did not
disclose the price in the document it submitted to the United States Security and
Exchange Authority.
According to a detailed report in weekly Takbeer, Karachi, January 23,1997, the
acquisition of Occidental Petroleum which operates Pakistan's second biggest
oilfield at Dharnol in Potohar was facilitated by Asif Zardari who arranged a
package of four loans from the Habib Bank and United Bank. The story is
corroborated by the fact that the defaulters list published by caretaker Prime
Minister Meraj Khalid listed Pak Company of Tempa, Florida, a Hashoo group
company to be defaulting in the payment of loans worth Rs 264 million.
For long, the Corporate Law Authority (CLA) has been asking Hashwani to
convert Hashwani Hotels into a public limited company, as required by the 1984
Company Law. He balked at the move on the plea that he was involved in
litigation with his brother Akbar Hashwani. However, despite the litigation, CLA
cleared the deal between Zever Petroleum and Occidental based on the
mortgage of his equity in Hashwani Hotels and other companies.
According to the article in weekly Takbeer, ten percent equity in Occidental
Pakistan International is owned by Hashwani Hotels, 30% by Pakistan Services
Ltd, adn balance by Zever Petroleum. Under the company law, approval of 51%
shareholders of a listed company is required before an investment can be made
in an associated company. At no annual general meeting, approval of
shareholders of Pakistan Services Ltd was sought to invest in Occidental.
Like Mansha and his associates who made a chain of inter-corporate investment
to acquire privatized cement units, Hashwani painstakingly invested and divested
in associated companies to reach the present heights. The controversial ICP loan
which facilitated the take over of PSL provided him the bedrock on which he
started building his empire.
In 1990, PSL decided to invest 1.5 million pound sterling (Rs 60 million) in a
foreign subsidy named Pearl Continental Overseas Ltd which in turn set up
another wholly owned subsidy called Pearl Continental Inc. It was Pearl
Continental Inc which acquired 75% shares in Pak Properties of Tempa
operating 200-room Embassy Suites Boca, Raton, Florida. It was against this
hotel in Florida that Hashwani negotiated a loan from United Bank to acquire
Occidental Pakistan.
Meanwhile the PSL management has paid only three dividens to shareholders,
20% in 1986, 10% in 1990 and 15% in 1993, although huge amounts were
transferred abroad and new assets acquired by pledging PSL shares. Money
was also being siphoned off quite openly to other companies of Hashoo group.
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