Pakistan gives employees 12pc stake in oil, gas
Thursday, 20 August 2009
ISLAMABAD Aug. 19 (Bloomberg): Pakistan gave the employees of Oil & Gas Development Co., the biggest company by market value, a 12 per cent stake in the state-owned fuels explorer as part of the government's asset-sale plan.
"This plan will boost the performance of workers and companies," Naveed Qamar, minister for privatization, told reporters today in the capital, Islamabad.
The government, which owned the shares, gave them to workers without charge. Oil and Gas shares, which account for 18 per cent of the benchmark Karachi 100 Index, fell 2.2 per cent to 92.17 rupees at the 3:30 p.m. local time close in Karachi.
Under the new policy announced in February by the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government, which came into power in March 2008, a 12 per cent stake was set aside for workers in companies that the government was divesting. Pakistan has so far raised about $5.6 billion through an asset-sale program that started in the 1990s.
As many as 10,566 employees of Oil & Gas are eligible to receive the shares, Qamar said. The government's stake in the company will be reduced to 73 per cent after the shares are allocated to employees on Aug. 26.
Employees are barred from selling the shares and will receive the market price when they leave the company, Qamar said. They will get annual dividends while in employment.
A total of 438 million shares of Oil & Gas will be allocated to workers in units of 3,000 shares each, he said. Employees will be given between one and 20 units each, depending on their length of service, he said. Workers will only be eligible to receive shares if they have worked for the company for five years.
Pakistan's biggest national exploration company produces about 1 billion cubic feet of gas a day, or a quarter of the country's total output. The company's oil production is 60 per cent of the country's total of 62,000 barrels a day.
The government plans to give employees a 12 per cent stake in 80 state-owned companies, Qamar said. Workers will also get one seat on the boards of these companies.
"This plan will boost the performance of workers and companies," Naveed Qamar, minister for privatization, told reporters today in the capital, Islamabad.
The government, which owned the shares, gave them to workers without charge. Oil and Gas shares, which account for 18 per cent of the benchmark Karachi 100 Index, fell 2.2 per cent to 92.17 rupees at the 3:30 p.m. local time close in Karachi.
Under the new policy announced in February by the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government, which came into power in March 2008, a 12 per cent stake was set aside for workers in companies that the government was divesting. Pakistan has so far raised about $5.6 billion through an asset-sale program that started in the 1990s.
As many as 10,566 employees of Oil & Gas are eligible to receive the shares, Qamar said. The government's stake in the company will be reduced to 73 per cent after the shares are allocated to employees on Aug. 26.
Employees are barred from selling the shares and will receive the market price when they leave the company, Qamar said. They will get annual dividends while in employment.
A total of 438 million shares of Oil & Gas will be allocated to workers in units of 3,000 shares each, he said. Employees will be given between one and 20 units each, depending on their length of service, he said. Workers will only be eligible to receive shares if they have worked for the company for five years.
Pakistan's biggest national exploration company produces about 1 billion cubic feet of gas a day, or a quarter of the country's total output. The company's oil production is 60 per cent of the country's total of 62,000 barrels a day.
The government plans to give employees a 12 per cent stake in 80 state-owned companies, Qamar said. Workers will also get one seat on the boards of these companies.