State Owned Enterprises:Can we pull them out of the black hole?

State Owned Enterprises:Can we pull them out of the black hole?

BY NIDA AFAQUE,ON DECEMBER 7TH,2011

Just last year,Transparency International rated Pakistan as the 34th most corrupt nation in the world. Corruption has spread like a wild fire across the country consuming all public and private sectors. Recently,a corruption case against Nawaz Sharif was dismissed where it was alleged that he allotted land to his friends. Supreme Court asked Pakistan Railways to report the names of people involved in selling scrap at throwaway prices and buying overpriced bulbs to the National Accountability Bureau. Concerns were voiced by the Chief Justice of Pakistan over non-transparency in the rental power projects,which if proven true would signal the end of these projects. FIA interrogated PM Gillani’s son,Abdul Qadir,in a Haj corruption case where the financing of a bullet proof jeep was dubious. Defense Ministry allegedly found 88 armed officials involved in corruption while the Public Accounts Committee declared three top army generals responsible for the Rs1.8 billion losses in the National Logistics Cell scam. Transparency International raised allegations about bribery involved in the procurement of 2 aircrafts on lease for Haj operations. Federal Bureau Revenue recovered Rs 7.39 billion from energy companies which were concealing payable liability for the past few years. Chaudhry Nisar’s resignation from the Public Accounts Committee over the controversial appointment of the new Attorney General of Pakistan made us realize that even the agencies created to counter corruption were not free from this disease. On the international front,3 players from our national cricket team were found guilty of spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan last August.

 

All these events transpired in the last month alone.

Surprised much? One month’s news makes us wonder just how pervasive corruption is in the Pakistani society. State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have surfaced as critical issues this year. PIA,Steel Mills,Pakistan Railways and other SOEs,together last year resulted in a colossal loss of 3 billion dollars. Incompetency,politicization,mismanagement,hoarding of raw materials are a few of the reasons contributing to the decline of the SOEs.

Pakistan International Airlines

Their slogan,“Great people to fly with”,may not invoke positive sentiments with the public anymore. Delays,fare increases,baggage mishandling have become the norm now. It is a pity to see the national carrier,once a source of great pride to Pakistanis,to be reduced to shambles.

PIA succeeded the pre-partition Orient Airways in 1955 and was guided in its early years by a leading industrialist,M.A. Ispahani. It ambitiously started running international routes the same year and grew into an airline with 40 aircrafts including Boeing-747 and A-310. It covers all the major cities of Pakistan and 40 destinations in 27 countries worldwide. PIA has also lent the army support in the form of logistics and transport during the wars with India.

PIA has many awards and accomplishments to be proud of. It was the first airline in the world to operate scheduled helicopter services,the first Asian airline to land in Norway,first non-Communist airline to land in China,first airline in Pakistan to operate a flight with an all female crew at command and in the cabin,first airline in the world to operate the Boeing 777-200ER,777-200LR and 777-300ER together. It set the fastest record for a flight between London and Karachi completing the journey in 6hours,43 minutes and 51 seconds,a record that still holds. Moreover it was awarded IATA Operational Safety Registration in 2005. It also showed the biggest volume boost in 2006 by Frankfurt Airport Authority. PIA also has a line of domestic awards including the “Brands of the Year” Award,“Consumers Choice Award” and “The Best Airlines Award (Cargo)”. It received a shield by Presidency of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia for its outstanding services provided over the period of Hajj and Umrah as well.

Regrettably,PIA’s glorious days have come to an end. During the 1900s,financial losses incurred by the airline made it a potential candidate for privatization. But disagreement between International Finance and PIA in 1997 did not permit it to materialize. PIA has sadly become a cause of concern for foreign aviation authorities. In March 2007,PIA aircrafts safety violations caused EU to impose a ban on most of its fleet but lifted it in November the same year. A repeat telecast was seen three months ago,when French Aviation Authorities asked their Pakistani counterpart,to submit a report over the failure of PIA’s Airbus A-310 plane to adhere to international safety regulations. Foreign aircraft program inspectors identified forty unattended defects in the aircraft.

PIA has experienced a series of emergency landings whose severity has been taken as ‘happenstances’ by the management;they often attribute bad weather or stray birds as the cause of these landings. Aviation experts caution that airlines experiencing financial difficulties are likely to compromise on maintenance. The Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP),reports that standards of engineering are not maintained by PIA and staff is not replenished properly when existing engineers retire. Also,substandard products and chemicals like grease are being used which can contribute to “technical” landings.

In 2008,rumors arose about privatizing PIA for its massive losses of Rs.40 billion. These were debunked by Defense Minister,Chaudhry Mukhar who believed PIA could improve if the government injected equity. In September 2011,Zardari opposed injecting equity and urged for the maximum utilization of financial,material and human resources and the replacement of the old aircrafts with new,cost-effective yet safe ones.  However,a cabinet meeting next month decided to inject Rs. 20 billion under the condition that PIA would restructure itself. A five- year restructuring plan,promising to increase revenue to Rs.217 billion by the end of its term,is pending with the Finance Ministry for approval. Calculations conducted earlier this year predict the airline’s debt burden,cash shortfall and negative equity is to grow to Rs 354bn by 2014.

It is popular belief that the prevailing nepotism in PIA is a major cause for its downfall. The current Managing Director and his predecessor are both close allies of President Zardari. The credentials of both men are disputable;Ejaz Haroon was said to lack any management experience as he was merely a pilot for Boeing airplanes. Nadeem Yousafzai,who took control after widespread protests from employees,is an old class fellow of President Zardari.  Civil Aviation experts have reservations regarding his ability to guide PIA out of its difficulties;like Haroon,Yousafzai,was a pilot and last appointed as chief of CAA on the ground. Furthermore,other high level posting are also marred by political affiliations.

It is probably from this dearth of management skills that the problem of overstaffing has persisted. According to a June 2011 report in The Express Tribune,PIA has more employees per aircraft than any other airline in the world at present.

Frequent protests by staff members indicate that decisions affecting the airline disregard popular sentiments. The hue and cry over the agreement with Turkish Airlines is one such example. Rumor had it that PIA was handing over profitable European and US routes to Turkish Airlines to promote closer relations with Turkey,whose president is on close terms with President Zardari. However,Haroon,the Managing Director at the time,felt that the agreement would help the airline from bankruptcy. He rejected the presence of political pressure by saying that out of 21 flights PIA’s share would include 14 flights and the remaining would be covered by Turkish Airlines. Thus showing that PIA had the upper hand.

PIA’s dealings with other companies have also been a cause of concern. The recent 5 year agreement with Transworld Aviation for purchasing spare parts,consumable materials and chemicals is said to cost $40 million per annum. Transworld will provide a credit of up to $ 700 million for 90 days with an interest rate of about 10 %. The Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP) believes Transworld to be incompetent since it does not have any experience with commercial airlines. Tranworld also refused to furnish its annual accounts as part of the tender requirements. In addition to this violation,PIA did not provide NAB with the contract agreement which labels any procurement  as misprocurement under the Rule 50 of Transparency International. Moreover,they added,Transworld facility in Dubai lacks a spare parts inventory for commercial airlines which they plan to build for PIA. This act has damaged PIA’s image in front of other international suppliers,who may be resistant to participating in future agreements. Signing a contract with a company that charges a higher interest rate than the prevailing market rate raises a lot of questions. Transworld’s after sales service for procurement is also problematic. According to their website,Transworld plans to an in-house repair/overhaul unit in the future. Fears about Transworld’s came true when 10 PIA carriers specifically large aircrafts like Boeing 747 and Airbus A-310 were grounded last month due to a shortage of spare parts.

On top of all these issues,inside sources in PIA claim that its failures are presented in a melodramatic fashion  in hope to drive PIA into accepting a cheap sale with Indus Air,run by Faryal Talpur,sister of President Zardari. The current government has also placed strict restructuring conditions on a Rs. 20 billion bail for PIA. While it does not directly further the interest of Ms.Talpur,it also does not make it any easier for PIA. If we were to consider the viewpoint of the employees,the situation does not appear to be a manipulated one. After all,it is only logical for them to accept jobs that offer a better salary package.

RAILWAYS

Pakistan inherited the British Railways at independence. While British rulers considered it as a great means of promoting economic development,Pakistan has done little to cash on its potential. Pakistan Railways (PR) network consists of 7,791 km-long track and 559 stations. In the 1900s,the carriage factory of Pakistan exported coaches to Bangladesh and other countries. Now,Pakistan imports locomotives and spare parts from other countries like China to cover for shortages. Extremely limited freight operations,a large workforce inclusive of many free-riders,fuel shortages for operating locomotives,nepotism,ancient infrastructure,illegal occupation of land,stealing of scraps are the many challenges facing Pakistan Railways. According to Sheikh Rashid,these issues have resulted in corruption equating Rs2 billion per annum in the mechanical workshops of the railways.” Pakistan Railways suffered a Rs. 26 billion loss this year with its financial deficit standing at Rs. 35 billion at the beginning of the year. The Rs. 11 billion bailout package promised by the government has been refused by the Finance Ministry.

One of the issues related to Railways if of the illegal encroachment of its land. In September 2010,Railways Minister,Muhammad Afzal Sindhu disclosed in the National Assembly that 4,231 acres of land of Pakistan Railways had been occupied by a private party. In the recent scandal involving Royal Palm and Country Club,FIA found former railways minister Lt Gen (retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi,chairman Maj. Gen. Hamid Butt and former general manager Lt Gen. Saeed-uz-Zafar to be actively involved in assigning 141 acres land to Royal Palm. This land was allotted at Rs. 4 per yard whereas its due amount should have been Rs. 53.4 per yard. According to the PR Audit report 2009-2010,Rs 49.882 million outstanding against Royal Palm Golf and Country Club was not recovered. A similar loss of Rs 45.617 million occurred from unauthorized use of its land by the Capital Development Authority in Islamabad.

Personal interests of the ruling parties are evident in the procurement of equipment and materials for Railways. In 2010,General Manager Pakistan Railways,Shahid Ahmad,said that the management had decided to cancel the acquisition of 75 Chinese locomotives as 32 out of 69 of their previously supplied engines had become irreparable. Despite this disappointing turnout,President Zardari disregarded the wishes of the Railway Ministry and ordered additional 75 locomotives from the same Chinese suppliers.

Earlier this year,Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) went against the Finance Ministry’s advice and approved the purchase of locomotives from an American company. This deal violated procurement rules and charged exorbitant rates. Even after accounting for inflation,the project was approved at least 30 per cent higher rates. The finance minister,Abdul Hafeez,was in contact with American Senator from Pennsylvania,Robert P. Casey Jr.,who requested the Finance Minister to accept the locomotives deal with General Electric.

The railway minister,Ghulam Ahmed Bilour,may even seem unperturbed by the condition of the railways. He is known to defend his ministry’s policies with statements like “Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan do not have railways too”. He is also reported to have said “If you do not have railways,use buses”,which is interesting because he runs a transport business. Buses especially on the occasion of Eid charged exorbitant fares. Passengers who were disillusioned by the delays and poor condition of the Railways are forced to comply with these fares. Two years ago,Bilour defended PR against privatization even though a cabinet committee has been formed to discuss the possibility. He said privatization was against the ruling party’s manifesto but perhaps it is against his personal interests too.

Bilour has blatantly accused the National Logistic Cell (NLC) for directing away revenue from railways’ freight business. NLC was created to help relieve the freight pressure and it has been successful at doing so. It has also at times offered its technical expertise in repairing Railways equipment. However,people feel that lack of restrictions on freight transport by road has also affected Railways. But road transport,the main means of transport chosen by NLC,is already more expensive than transport via rail so it does not seem fair to blame NLC for PR’s decline. On the other hand,Bilour believes that the budget for the road transport network is nearly four times bigger than that of the railways. It is thus being neglected by the government.

Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM)

Pakistan Steel Mills is living at the edge of the cliff too. The mill was set up in 1969 from a choice of Russian Chinese and German proposals,the latter two offering to use Kalabagh iron ore. An agreement was signed with Russia only to learn later that they lacked expertise in using local raw materials. Instead of cancelling the contract a mill was set up and iron ore would be imported for its use.  Its unloading and conveyor system at Port Qasim is the third largest in the world and its industrial water reservoir with a capacity of 110 million imperial gallons (500,000 m3) per day is the largest in Asia.

Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved a Rs.10 billion bailout package for Pakistan Steel Mills in January 2010 to overcome its financial losses. PSM claims to have used this for repayment of loans. A few months later,it was demanding another Rs. 25 billion to pay off its liabilities. PSM incurred a loss of Rs. 700 million per month in 2010 and as assessed in February 2011,its debt stood at Rs. 14 billion.  In April 2011,Pakistan and Russia held a meeting to expand the capacity of the mill through modernization and refurbishment with technical assistance from Russia.

Efforts to privatize in 1998 failed and it was decided to restructure the mill. The issue was taken up again in 2006 by Musharraf who was successful in his endeavor. But a few months later,Supreme Court annulled he privatization on the basis of selling the mills at price lower than their worth. Former chief of the Steel Mills,Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum,was working towards expanding the mill’s capacity and its associated financing when he received news of the mill’s privatization. He said that former Prime Minister,Shaukat Aziz,offered him a lucrative position in return for giving a statement in favor of privatization,which Qayyum refused. According to Qayyum,the price of the land of the mills amounted to Rs.40 billion which was communicated to Aziz. But the latter went ahead and sold the mill at Rs. 21 billion. President Musharraf was unavailable when Qayyum tried to contact him. He was later on dismissed by the president over the telephone. Masood Ahmed Dahr,former sectary of BOI,in a televised discussion,said that Pakistan did not have a law which permitted the opening of a case on criminal intent,as is present in the case of steel mills.

Preferential treatment to further the interests of influential parties in PSM is substantiated by the case revolving around the Abbas Steel Group. In 2009,the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) discovered that PSM had accumulated debt by preferential selling of billets to the Abbas Steel Group at prices well below the market price while other competing vendors,who had made full payments in advance at the market price,were left high and dry. A top government official claimed that the government was considering selling steel products at an extra Rs. 5000 per ton to the dealers. President Zardari denied these accusations. CCP’s investigation found Riaz Lalji,former business associate of President Zardari and owner of Abbas Steel Group,responsible. Former steel mills chairman,Moeen Aftab ,is said to have transpired with Lalji and caused a  loss of more than Rs. 22 billion to the steel mills. Abbas Steel Group refutes these allegations saying that the quantity of raw materials they were receiving were far less than their due share because of which they were unable to produce at even 50 percent of their full capacity. It denied any influence in the pricing of products and rejected any clandestine discounts.

The interference of Interior Minister,Rehman Malik,in this matter further hampered the investigation. Malik had promoted Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) chief Tariq Khosa,to the post of a federal secretary when the latter was probing into PSM’s Rs. 22 billion loss. Khose was urging the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to allow for the arrest of a federal minister of state whose money exchange firm was involved in money connected to the Steel Mills.

In February 2011,the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production presented a report to the Senate Secretariat. The report stated that Moeen Aftab’s appointment was influenced by a large political group associated with the steel business and commission agents from companies which supplied raw materials. Chairman of the sub-committee,Senator Haroon Akhtar,felt that the government’s reluctance in appointing a CEO was deliberate so that Moeen Aftab could not be properly investigated.

PSM employees are no worse than its top management. Even though they reside in the official houses provided by the organization,they extort house rent. In May 2010,Public Accounts Committee (PAC) found that the former PSM Chairman took Rs2.886 million house rent while living at his official residence. The junior officers at PSM are even guilty of doing this.

PSM has outsourced the sale of its products to different dealers. While there is a limit to the amount of products given to each dealer,some companies have registered their dealerships under the names of their relatives and friends. With no check from the PSM,these companies are successful in forming monopolies in the market.

NATIONAL FERTILIZER CORPORATION (NFC)

National Fertilizer Corporation Limited is a successor to the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). Costing Rs. 2243 million,NFC was set up in 1973 at Multan and the following year fertilizer companies set up by PIDC at Faisalabad,Jaranwala,Daudkhel and Multan and the expansion project of Pak-Arab Fertilizers at Multan,had been transferred to NFC.

NFC has also launched six new companies namely,Pak-Suzuki Fertilizer Limited in Sindh,Pak-China Fertilizer Limited and Hazara Phosphate Fertilizers Limited in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Fertilizer Research and Development Institute,National Fertilizer Marketing Limited and NFC Technical Training Centre in Punjab. Six fertilizer bulk storage areas in Punjab,Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were undertaken so as to reduce pressure on transport and ensure availability of fertilizers in the vicinity of the consumption areas.

Currently the fertilizer industry is not operating at its full capacity. Gas shortages to the plants and overpricing and hoarding of the fertilizers are critical problems facing the fertilizer sector. According to an official at National Fertilizer Development Centre,the total demand of fertilizer for Rabi season is 3,356,000 tons while domestic production was 2,610,000 tons and the remaining 765,000 tons have to be covered by imports. Last month Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research,Mir Israrullah Zehri,said that the government decided to import an additional 200,000 tons of fertilizer urea to overcome shortage. Sources claim that the despite the subsidy,the price per bag has increased a good 53 per cent.

Unlike other industries which can run on fuels other than natural gas (understandably at a higher rate),the fertilizer industry requires it as an essential component in the production of urea. In 2005,the government formulated a natural gas allocation policy in which fertilizer industries were to be given priority after domestic consumers. According to Engro Corporation President and CEO Asad Umar,priorities were changed when influenced by international donor agencies making the fertilizer industry’s demands the least important. He blamed the media for propagating the interests of the CNG associations which is why CNG stations were supplied 5 days,industrial units 4 days and the fertilizer sector 3 days of gas per week during the first half of 2011.

Gas shortages occurring from September this year were restored Iast month.  Farmers were delighted with this restoration only to find out that from December,gas supply would be cut again by 90 million cubic feet per day to divert gas to domestic consumers. If the fertilizer industries are exempted from gas load shedding,it would cause a great strain on power sector since more alternative fuels like oil will have to be imported. Gas power plants will no longer be functional and an over-reliance on oil would inflate power tariffs.

The imposition of the Infrastructure Development Cess (IDC) is expected to raise gas prices by three to 193%. The levy is being imposed to generate Rs. 34 billion per annum to finance the infrastructure costs for gas import projects like the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project. The highest rise in gas prices of 193.13%   will be seen in the fertilizer sector.

Poor gas supply and high costs has caused urea manufacturers to increase prices to avoid losses. For example,last month Engro Fertilizers increased urea prices by 25 percent or Rs.400 per bag to Rs.1980 per bag but reversed the increase over pressure by the government. Farmers fear that they would increase the prices in December.

Secretary General Sindh Abadgar Board,Mehmood Nawaz Shah,has complained of a lack of regulation over urea pricings. He said that fertilizer prices increased even when there was no increase in the price of natural gas. He admitted that 80 % of urea’s price was connected to the price of natural gas,but then why did the former’s prices increase when there was no increase in the latter’s price?

When all other measures fail,fertilizer companies have to close down their plants. Last year,Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL) had shut down its urea production plant due to shortage of natural gas while production of Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) has been halved. This is turn affects the availability of fertilizers in the local market. Less supply means higher prices which farmers cannot afford.

To account for the short fall in fertilizers,the government has to resort to imports. Government’s recent import subsidy of Rs.300 failed to reach farmers as dealers sell the imported fertilizer at the same rate as local produced fertilizer. Locally produced urea’s costs around Rs1,600 per bag which is sold to farmers at Rs1,900 per bag,while imported is available at Rs1,750 to Rs1,900 per bag.

Farmer say that only 10 % of the dealers who are on good terms with NFC officials were being supplied imported urea in bulk while the remaining 90% were denied fertilizers despite depositing security with NFC. In 2009,the National Fertilizer Marketing (NFML) disclosed that instead of supplying imported urea to farmers directly,it was being issued to the sons of the federal agricultural minister and other high officials including parliamentarians from treasury and opposition parties,some of whom were existing cabinet ministers. They would earn a markup of Rs. 100 per bag by selling urea at expensive rates in the market.

This year former management of the NFC and National Fertilizer Marketing Limited (NFML) were found guilty of misappropriating over 78,000 bags of urea worth Rs.35 billion,in collusion with the carriage contractors of imported urea fertilizer. Misappropriated urea amounted to a total of Rs.27 billion from July 2008-December 2010. 40% of the imported urea still has to be delivered to government’s warehouses.

Two officials of the NFML,Lt-Col (Retd) Ikramul Haq and Hamid Pervez,were terminated but Regional Manager,Abdul Ghaffar still holds his position,despite his alleged involvement. Ahmad Shahzad,Khawaja Akbar and Faisal Shahzad ,owners of Faisal Movers and Mazhar,owner of Akbar Brothers,among others had transpired with the NFML officials. They were guilty of taking bribes in exchange for obtaining government subsidies to import fertilizers and then shipping them off to Afghanistan. Besides embezzling large amounts of urea,they also received payments for carriage and labor handling. The consignments which were stored at the warehouses of their own dealers created a man-made shortage to extort money from poor farmers through black marketing.

In 2009,top fertilizer companies were said to be involved in tying-in the sale of urea with DAP. DAP is required for Rabi and Kharif crops at the stage of sowing. This was proven by the fact that the sale of DAP did not differ between sowing and harvesting seasons. Poor farmers wanting a bag of urea had to buy a bag of DAP even if they did not require the latter.

Dealers are also known to cause artificial shortages to drive up the prices and sell bags less than the standard weight for highly inflated prices. They have to abide by the tie-in sales practices in order to maintain their profit margin. Also they cannot sell DAP at expensive rates because the imported DAP is of better quality that the local one. So they chose to sell urea at higher rates to maintain their profit.

To privatize or not to privatize?

This was just a glimpse of the problems SOEs suffer from.  While many solutions have been offered by experts and critics,the general mentality of Pakistanis is to find a quick fix- foreign aid,Chinese grants,forgoing loan repayment- essentially something that would not involve sacrifices or difficulties. Perhaps it’s true to say that Pakistan is heading for the same situation Greece was found in recently.

The government has encouraged restructuring processes in SOEs. But many believe that it involves a mere reallocation of the management to placate and convince donors of their intensions. It is also important to consider that a change in management without any change in policies and competition does not guarantee improvement as the work ethic in these companies would remain the same.

Many believe that privatization is the solution. But privatization would only produce results if it encourages competition. Others feel that privatization would result in the loss of millions of jobs and so we need to restructure the industry in question. We can still improve the condition of the SOEs by removing barriers to entry and exit. With these barriers,privatization would not be able to yield much either- the ownership would merely change from state-owned to privately-owned.  The entry of new firms in the telecommunications industry helped improve it slightly but KESC’s privatization was not very useful as it became a privately-owned monopoly.

So if privatization and restructuring have drawbacks then how should we proceed?

President Zardari has encouraged the idea of forming consortiums of top entrepreneurs to engage in public-private partnerships with state enterprises.  Pakistan’s policy for public-private partnership (PPP),as approved by the Economic Coordination Committee in 2010,explains PPP as “involve[d in] the financing,development,operation and  maintenance of infrastructure by the private-sector which would otherwise have been  provided by the public sector. Instead of the public sector procuring a capital asset and providing a public service,the private sector creates the asset through a dedicated standalone business (usually designed,financed,built,maintained and operated by the private sector) and then delivers a service to the public sector entity/consumer in return for payment that is linked  to performance.”

PPP is being practiced in Pakistan in limited areas. Karachi and Qasim Port are managed by private-sector partners while Gwadar Port has signed an agreement with Singaporean Authorities. For trade facilitation,the Pakistani Customs Computerized System (PaCCS) connects all domestic regulatory authorities and stakeholders online. With such precedents,we need to carry this trend in the major state enterprises which are causing immense losses.  This green signal from the government should be utilized fully by industrialists.

Pakistan could take a few pointers from the Korean chaebol structure- a conglomerate of businesses around a parent company such that companies hold shares in each other’s businesses. It could help business with diversification since the chaebols’s brand name would ensure consumer confidence in buying their product. Smaller companies can be guaranteed equal attention from the government as larger companies. The experience of other companies in the chaebol can help make decision making faster and efficient. The large size of chaebols would make it easier to access to economies of scale. And most of all,the availability of diversified knowledge would open a wide range of new business opportunities.

Public-private partnership and the chaebol structure embody the need for collective action for progress. Pakistanis have to realize that the pointing fingers and playing the blame game is not the way out. While they have skill and experience,Pakistanis need to unite their efforts to resolve the problems of state enterprises.

By Nida Afaque
ZoneAsia-Pk 

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