No takers for PIA? Airline gets just one bid for stake sale

The Pakistan government has received only one bid for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), with five of the total six consortiums, who had qualified for the bid, staying away from the process.

According to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, citing Ahsan Ishaq, spokesman for the Privatisation Ministry, the sole bidder deposited “earnest money” for the transaction with the Privatisation Commission by Tuesday’s deadline.

He, however, didn’t disclose the name of the interested party, added the report.

Earnest money is paid by buyers to show their commitment and intention to finalise the deal.

Previously, the government shortlisted Airblue Ltd., Arif Habib Corporation Ltd., Air Arabia’s Fly Jinnah, Y.B. Holdings Pvt., Pak Ethanol Pvt., and the real estate consortium Blue World City to submit bids for a majority stake in the national airline.

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The government originally aimed to privatise the airline by June, but delays have pushed the target date to October.

Initially, the bidders sought full ownership of the airline, but the government countered with an offer of a 76 per cent stake.

PIA has faced ongoing financial difficulties, highlighted by reports of unpaid salaries to 7,000 employees for November 2023.

Additionally, a travel blogger’s recent experience on a PIA flight to Skardu raised alarms, with claims of unclean conditions and safety issues, reinforcing concerns surrounding the airline.

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With inputs from agencies