$600 Million Needed to Meet Financial Requirements of PIA

There is an immediate need of $600 million to meet the financial requirements of the cash-strapped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a meeting chaired by Caretaker Federal Minister for Privatization Fawad Hasan Fawad was informed on Thursday. Ernst & Young, the Financial Advisor for divestment of PIA, presented a business plan before the meeting forecasting the investment roadmap of PIA together with the immediate funding requirements of $600 million for the airline, sources familiar with the matter told ProPakistani. The proposed plan covered the capital and fleet requirements of the airline in the short and medium term to make it a viable and globally competitive airline. The minister advised further rationalization of the projections before the submission of the plan for approval of the federal cabinet. The legal segregation plan and transaction structure together with the business plan and valuation methodology would be taken to the federal cabinet for final approval. Sources further said that the $600 million capital expenditure requirement is for a period of 5 to 6 years. The final figure could vary slightly depending on further work on the plan.