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Govt seeks advisers on selling off PSO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Friday it was seeking "world-class" financial advisers to help it sell off Pakistan State Oil (PSO). the country's largest petroleum distribution company.

The state's Privatisation Commission said in a statement that it wanted to appoint financial advisers for the "restructuring and privatisation" for the state-owned firm.

It said PSO, with a 78 percent market share of petroleum distribution, would be offered for sale after the government approved a divestment plan prepared by the advisers.

The commission said it was looking for a "world-class consortium", led by a top investment bank with experience in oil and gas privatisation.

As part of a stepped-up reform campaign aimed towards privatisation, the government reshuffled the boards of its state-owned oil and gas companies on Thursday, including PSO.

The move, widely hailed by oil industry analysts, pushed the Karachi Stock Exchange index by about two percent on Friday.

PSO was up 4.50 rupees at 249.00 in late afternoon trade.

The company had assets of 20.16 billion rupees as of June 1998, the statement said.

"During financial year 1998 (ending in June 1999) it had a sales volume of 121 billion rupees," it added.

Pakistan announced last week that its oil and gas sectors would be privatised first, in the next eight months.

Privatisation plans for Pakistan Telecommunications Co Ltd are also being drawn up.