Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today appointed five persons, including businessmen and a chartered accountant, to the board of Pakistan Steel Mills as part of efforts to turn around the loss-making state-run firm.
Chartered accountant Asad Ali Khan, businessman Jabbar Memon Shah, HRD professional M Saad Hussain, corporate professional Sohail Ahmed and banker Ahmed Alman Aslam were appointed to the board, said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.
In a massive privatisation initiative, the government decided earlier this month to sell 26 per cent or more shares of 31 state-owned entities, including Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan Railways.
The sale is necessary to fulfil a key condition of the International Monetary Fund's USD 6.7 billion bailout programme for Pakistan.
The government has directed the Privatisation Commission to start the process for sale of 31 public sector entities (PSEs) through initial and secondary public offering and transfer of 26 per cent shares, along with management control, to the private sector.
Sharif last month said his government was pumping in Rs 500 billion every year into the "black hole of institutional losses" and mentioned the examples of Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Steel Mills and the railways. He said one of the main reasons for the losses was excess staff.
Appointments in these institutions were made on the basis of "nepotism and political recommendations", he had said.
