Finance Minister Aurangzeb Highlights Positive Economic Indicators

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb highlighted efforts to advance economic reforms, emphasizing transparent governance across all sectors. Speaking during a briefing on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Islamabad, he asserted that positive trends in key indicators underpinned these initiatives. Aurangzeb outlined several improvements: losses of SOEs had declined over the past three years; some companies saw reduced profits but noted ongoing reforms aimed at boosting their performance.

He also mentioned steps to address persistently losing entities by shutting them down and providing compensation packages for affected employees, citing examples such as the closure of PWD and Utility Stores Corporation. Additionally, PASSCO was moving towards shutdown. The minister explained that a rightsizing policy was in place to streamline operations and reduce financial burden on the state.

Highlighting Pakistan’s privatisation drive, Aurangzeb revealed that both Pakistan International Airlines and First Women Bank had already been successfully privatized through transparent processes. He announced plans for further privatisation of power distribution companies, in alignment with Prime Minister’s directives to ensure transparency throughout these initiatives. The minister reconfirmed the government’s commitment to structural reforms aimed at bolstering the economy and enhancing efficiency within public sector institutions.