23/12/2025
Arif Habib consortium emerges victorious in PIA auction with Rs135bn bid
ISLAMABAD: A successful bid of Rs135bn by Arif Habib won the auction for Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Ltd (PIAC) after the process moved to an open auction round at a ceremony in Islamabad, marking the country’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades.
Initially, pre-qualified bids were submitted by Lucky Cement, private airline Airblue and investment firm Arif Habib in the morning. Airblue exited the race after the first round of bidding, with a proposition lower than the reference price of Rs100bn.
In the first round, Lucky Cement put up a bid of Rs101.5bn, Airblue Rs26.5bn, and the Arif Habib consortium bid Rs115bn, after which the reference price was announced.
Following that, a 30-minute break was taken so that the two top bidders could hold consultations. A second round was then commenced.
It began with the base bid at Rs115bn, and the minimum increment was at Rs250 million. The base price was set on the basis of the highest bid made during the first round by Arif Habib.
Both bidders engaged in a brief competition to outbid each other during the round. However, when Lucky Cement raised its bid to Rs134bn, Arif Habib countered with Rs135bn, forcing Lucky Cement to bow out and congratulate Arif Habib.
The whole process was telecast live and streamed across all TV channels as well as the respective social media handles of the government.
