Pakistan Air bidder says partnership better than stake sale

A bidder for Pakistan International Airlines has suggested the government seek a partner rather than sell stake in the carrier.  

Businessman Arif Habib, part of one of the six groups that have been shortlisted to bid for the carrier, has told Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration that the government should dilute its stake and attract a partner. It can then sell its share at a higher price after the revival of the airline is complete. 

“We have advised that the bid amount, as a capital, should go into the core company. In other words, new investors should be invited, they invest and take a stake in the company,” he said at a briefing in Karachi. “The potential buyers requirement will be less and company will be healthy.”

Apart from injecting funds back into the airline, he suggested creating a payment schedule for the 200 billion rupees ($718 million) owed to lessors and oil companies among others. 

Pakistan is in the process to sell a majority stake in the airline, which has failed to make a profit in almost two decades. The sale is a step toward the government’s goal to undertake economic reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.