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Pakistan eyes 10-nation economic bloc

Habib Bank, three other units to be sold on stock market
ISLAMABAD, Dk IS : The Pakistan government, disap faflure^ftnd nancial Institutions. might de cide to sell them piecemeal on the stockmarket. Finance Minister SartaJ Axis said, re ports Reuter
The government privatise ordered to come up with a new plan this month for selling (Habib Bank Ltd), the largest commercial bank, a second commercial bank and
The basic thing is that the bids that we received for the four financial units were not very encouraging." Aziz said tn an interview. Two commercial banks have already been sold
The sponsors of 10 new commercial banks sanctioned earlier this year were not allowed to bid which left relatively few bidders with the financial clout to buy the banka, he said
The government could readvertlse for offers but Arii said the most likely course would be to sell a controlling interest tn five or 10 percent trances over six to nine
In calendar 1990. Habib made pre-tax profits of 30 mil Don US dollar and the second commercial bank (United Bank Ltd) 10.9 million
But Pakistani banks have a large proportion of bad loans Average loan recovery was only 41 percent in 1989. wtth United Bank the worst at 20 percent.
Aza said he was happy with the rest of the government s privatisation programme which was launched after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office 13 months ago.
Out of 100 Industrial units put up for sale, the govern ment has already sold 24 and Asts said he expected to eventually dispose of 60 to 70 of the mostly loss making firms.
Overall, the sales should bring the government about one billion dollar he said as well as improving the fiscal budget by removing the firms losses
So far the reaction of the private sector has been good You can see It In the stock-market"
The government this week
passed a decree giving k-glsla ttve protection to Its economic reforms and Aziz said It Intended passing a conalltu Uonal amendment within two months to guarantee a future government could not reverse the process
"But my feeling is that the best guarantee for these re forms is their success "he said "If they are good for the country and the people, why should people want to reverse them?"
Another despatch adds. Pakistan sees a good chance that Central Asian nations emerging from the old Soviet Union could turn to their southern neighbours to form a 10-natlon economic bloc. Finance Minister SartaJ said
But the conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan must be settled before growing ties can be translated into trade along the highways linking the central Asia and Pakistan via Kabul.
Lacking direct ocean links, the central Asian republics will need an outlet to the sea and Karachi is one of the most obvious routes, Aziz said in an in-
terview.
'If you took at it. Tashkent is closer to Islamabad than Islamabad is to Karachi." he said
Pakistan Iran and Turkey are already linked In the Economic Cooperation Orga nisation (ECO) and Islamabad is ready to widen that to Include the six Muslim republics of Central Asia and a post war Afghanistan
"We have a very good possi blllty of creating this 10 nation trading btoc. Aziz sa*d " It depends on the political shape these countries take
Pakistan has a government delegation now touring Central Asia and it expects the six republics future relations with Moscow will be clarified within a month or two
Aziz said Pakistan! textile mill companies had already ft nalised deals to set up Joint venture projects In Centra) Asia to process Its large cotton crop.
Pakistan also sees itself as a major transshipment point for the region and source of badly needed consumer goods and machinery.