Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited (FATIMA) has submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) and Statement of Qualification (SOQ) to the Privatisation Commission of Pakistan (PC) for participation in the privatisation process of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL). FATIMA submitted the EOI as a member of the consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation Limited (AHCL). This was announced by FATIMA and AHCL in separate notices to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) today. As per a notification issued by the PC, FATIMA, AHCL, City Schools (Private) Limited, and Lake City Holdings (Private) Limited, were pre-qualified to participate in the bidding process, said the notice by FATIMA. “The pre-qualified parties will now proceed to the buy-side due diligence phase, a key step in the competitive and transparent privatisation process of PIACL,” the company said. The notice further said that the consortium’s continued participation in the process will be contingent upon the outcome of the due diligence exercise and subsequent guidance from our Board of Directors. The government plans to offer PIA’s equity stake through a competitive bidding process. Pakistan has been seeking to sell a 51%-100% stake in the struggling national airline to raise funds and reform cash-draining, state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme.