ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have increased the price of petrol by Rs1.35 per liter till the next fortnight, the country’s Finance Division said in a notification late Thursday. 

As per the notification, the new price of petrol has been increased from Rs247.03 per liter to Rs248.38 per liter. 

“The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has worked out the consumer prices of petroleum products, based on the price variation in the international market,” OGRA said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, the government also increased the price of high speed diesel by Rs3.85 per liter, increasing it from Rs251.29 per liter to Rs255.14 per liter. 

The price of kerosene was slashed by Rs1.48 per liter, decreasing it from Rs163.02 per liter to Rs161.54 per liter, and the price of light diesel oil was slashed by Rs2.61 per liter, bringing it down from Rs150.12 per liter to Rs147.51 per liter. 

Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers in Pakistan while any increase in the price of diesel is considered highly inflationary as it is mostly used to power heavy transport vehicles and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.

However, the negligible decrease in petrol and diesel prices is unlikely to provide much relief to the inflation-stricken Pakistanis.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national flag carrier received a Rs10 billion [$36 million] bid from real estate development company Blue World City on Thursday for sixty percent of its stakes during a televised auction, much below the minimum price for the airline set by the government.
Pakistan plans to sell more than 51 percent of its stake in the loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as part of economic reforms Islamabad agreed to with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a critical 37-month $7 billion bailout deal approved in September.
Pakistan’s government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only real estate development company Blue World City met a Tuesday deadline to submit final documents to participate in the auction.
The state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) broadcast the bidding process live, with Blue World City as the sole bidder. The bid for $36 million was read out in front of government officials and financial advisers. The government had set a minimum price of Rs85 billion [$305 million] for the airline.
“We have considered your match price option,” Blue World City Chairman Saad Nazir said during the event. “We have decided to stand with the price we have already submitted.”
 Nazir refused to match the government’s offer of Rs85 billion, saying that as per the company’s assessment, “this was the best decision.”
“If the government doesn’t privatize [PIA], we wish the government all the best,” he said.
 Pakistan’s privatization commission has allowed some time for potential bidders to see if any would outmatch Blue World City’s bid.
“The government couldn’t get the fair price of the PIA through the auction due to the single bidder,” Haroon Sharif, a former member of the cabinet committee on privatization, told Arab News.
“There was no competition to purchase stakes of the national carrier.”
The government’s initial plan was to finalize the deal to sell PIA on the country’s Independence Day, Aug. 14, but the plan was delayed following requests from bidders waiting for the airline’s latest audited accounts, aircraft lease agreements and clarity on flights to Europe, which are currently banned.
This auction was delayed to September and October but those also did not materialize.
Sharif said the government should have extended the auction’s deadline to involve more bidders in the process.
“Now it looks like the government is privatizing the PIA in desperation,” he noted.
Official data available with Arab News shows there are 88 commercially operated state-owned enterprises in Pakistan, with collective losses of up to Rs730.258 billion ($2.61 billion) in the fiscal year 2022 (FY22).
In its five-year privatization plan ending in 2029, the government has approved 24 state-owned enterprises for sale, including the PIA.
With a fleet of 34 aircraft comprising 17 Airbus A320s, 12 Boeing B777s and 5 ATRs, the PIA loses traffic to Middle Eastern carriers who have a market share of 60 percent, because of an absence of direct flights to destinations.
The carrier has air service pacts with 87 countries, and landing slots at key destinations such as London Heathrow.
The reorganization plan of the business will separate the aviation-related aspects from non-core components, so freeing the operating subsidiary of a large portion of legacy debt.