No plans to sell Roosevelt Hotel or PIA, clarifies Miftah Ismail

Picture source - APP (May 2022)

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said that the federal government had no plans to sell to Qatar the shares in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) or the Roosevelt Hotel in New York.

In a press conference on Friday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail denied Pakistan was considering selling shares of both public assets in order to obtain loans from the Gulf state.

The finance minister spoke about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s two-day trip to Qatar by saying, “Coincidentally, we did not speak about the Roosevelt Hotel during our meetings.”

According to Qatar’s Emiri Diwan, who made the announcement during the visit of the prime minister, The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) intends to invest $3 billion in Pakistan.

Miftah also stated that Qatar intends to invest in the long-term leasing and management control of Pakistan’s airports rather than purchasing them.

According to him, Qatar has intentions to build a terminal at one of Pakistan’s ports, invest in the nation’s LNG projects, or fund large-scale power plants.

Miftah stated that Pakistan has complied with all IMF standards and will receive the $1.17 billion tranche following the board meeting on Monday.

The finance minister also made it clear that individuals who haven’t paid their electricity bills yet will receive the right ones without any adjustments for fuel prices.

For individuals who have already paid their bills, he stated that the adjustment will be made in their September bills.