August 2008
Pakistani privatization: State sell-offs should perk up equity market
It’s been a ropey year so far for Pakistan’s embattled stock markets but better news is on the horizon for global investors. Over the next 12 months, the government is expected to push ahead with aggressive plans to privatize a clutch of state-run firms, as the government seeks to cut into a current account deficit that widened to $14 billion in the fiscal year to end-June 2008, from less than half that a year earlier.
|
|
Shareholder backlash: paramilitary forces patrol during a protest at the Karachi Stock Exchange on July 17. Hundreds of angry investors, upset by plunging share prices, demanded a temporary closure of the market |
On the slab over the next year are expected to be significant state holdings in National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank and United Bank. Pakistan Steel Mills, the country’s largest steel mill operator, in which the state owns a 10% stake, is also expected to raise a significant chunk of change for the country’s embattled government. Also up for sale between now and end-June 2009 are companies including Hazara Phosphate Fertilizers (state owns 90%), Jamshoro Power (51%) and Faisalabad Electric Supply (56%).
Many of the investors are expected to be global private equity firms such as...
You must be a subscriber to access this archived content.
If your subscription includes access to the archive, please log in now to view.
To gain access to this content visit the subscription page or call our hotline on +44 (0)207 779 8999.
Subscribe online now and save up to 30% on your subscription.
If you are a trialist or subscriber, please enter your username and password at the top right-hand side of euromoney.com
Subscribers to Euromoney benefit from:
- 12 months access in print and online - on euromoney.com, read the latest issue early online, search for specific developments by region or sector, interrogate the results of Euromoney's benchmark polls, and view the archive dating back to 1996
- More than 30 specialist research guides free
- The results of Euromoney’s polls and surveys
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Click here to subscribe