Key Points
- Pakistan approves board appointments across major state firms
- Decision taken to wind up Sarmaya-e Pakistan Limited
- LNG, gas sector accounting issue referred for further review
- Power and trade sector board changes cleared
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday approved a series of board appointments across key state-owned enterprises and decided to wind up a government holding company.
According to an official statement, a high-level committee reviewed governance and restructuring matters at the Finance Division.
The Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) met under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, with Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry and senior officials from relevant ministries and regulatory bodies in attendance.
The committee cleared a proposal from the Railways Division for the appointment of four independent and three ex officio members to the board of a Special Purpose Vehicle.
The approved legal entity is meant for the Thar coal rail connectivity project, a joint initiative with the Sindh government.
A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is a separate legal entity created to execute a specific project, helping ring-fence financial risks and streamline management and financing arrangements.
The nominations had earlier been vetted by the Board Nomination Committee and approved by the prime minister.
In a separate decision, the committee approved a Finance Division summary to wind up Sarmaya-e Pakistan Limited, citing its redundancy following changes in the governance framework for state-owned enterprises.
The meeting also took up a Petroleum Division request seeking exemption from International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS-14 and IFRS-9) for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited, among others.
The committee directed that the matter be reviewed further by a panel comprising officials from the Law Division, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Petroleum Division and Privatisation Division before being resubmitted.
The cainet sub-committee also approved the reconstitution of the board of Pakistan Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Limited in line with recommendations of the Board Nomination Committee and provisions of the SOEs Act, 2023.
A proposal regarding the appointment of independent directors to the board of Pakistan Petroleum Limited was referred to the federal cabinet. The committee noted that relevant provisions of the SOEs law did not apply in this case.
The committee further endorsed the reconstitution of the boards of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company and Sukkur Electric Power Company. The reconstitution already has the clearance of credentials and prior approval of the prime minister.
In addition, a Commerce Division proposal to fill a vacant independent director position on the board of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan was approved.
The meeting concluded with approval of the appointment of Yousaf Khan as Member/Trustee of the Karachi Port Trust board against a vacant slot.
