ISLAMABAD: The Government has clarified that Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) is not being privatized and assured that none of its employee will be removed.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Friday, Minister of State for Privatization Muhammad Zubair said there would be no further off-loading of the OGDCL shares, except the forthcoming transaction.
He said the Government has currently seventy-five percent shares in OGDCL. Of them, only ten percent shares are being off-loaded through capital market.
Muhammad Zubair said even after off-loading of ten percent shares, the Government would still be majority shareholder. He explained the management of the company would not be handed over to buyers of these.
He said out of 322 million shares for sale, 311 million would be offered to institutional investors. Of the remaining eleven million shares, two-thirds would be offered to general public and one-third to OGDCL employees.
The Minister of State also dispelled the propaganda that the OGDCL shares are being divested without any legal authority. He said the Supreme Court allowed the Government last month to proceed with the transaction.
He denied that the transaction is being done to please the IMF.