Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC : appointed as Financial Advisor by the Government of Pakistan for the Restructuring & Privatization of Pakistan International Airlines

Government of Pakistan has appointed the consortium headed by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) as the Financial Advisor on the Restructuring of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) leading to private sector partnership in the Core Operations of PIAC. The consortium includes top relevant industry experts as required for the Transaction including IATA Consulting- the foremost aviation consulting firm part of IATA Group(Aviation Expert), Deloitte Pakistan (Accounting and Taxation Expert), HaidermotaBNR (Domestic Legal Advisor), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (International Legal Advisor), Abacus Consulting (HR Consultants), APCO Worldwide (International PR Advisors) and Prestige Communications (Domestic PR Advisors).

Five consortia were shortlisted for the Transaction by Privatization Commission including (a) Ernst & Young and Seabury, (b) Jefferies and ICFI, (c) Mckinsey (d) Rothschild and (e) Dubai Islamic Bank and IATA Consulting.  "The appointment of DIB's advisory team on this landmark transaction is testament to the bank's undisputed technical capability, sophistication, credibility and expertise in advising and executing transactions along a wide spectrum of financial requirements and across a varied and diverse customer base," said Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Islamic Bank "Our growth agenda for 2014 and beyond has a renewed focus on international expansion and cross border business as we forge ahead in our plans to establish DIB as a household name in the markets we operate.  The award of this mandate to the bank demonstrates the Government of Pakistan's confidence in our continued support and commitment to the country and its economy." he added.

PIAC, the national flag carrier has been swamped with diverse challenges for some time including an ageing fleet, maintenance issues, oil bill and competition of domestic and international carriers which weighed heavily on its revenue line and significantly depressed its financial condition. The corporation required multiple interventions by the government to rescue it from its economic and commercial difficulties. Faced with numerous challenges on diverse fronts itself and to channels its financial resources on more pressing  needs, the present government took a leaf from its past privatization performance, which resulted in turnaround stories like UBL, ABL, HBL, DG Khan Cement to name a few, and  decided to restructure the entity  by inviting fresh international perspective and expertise tasked to turn around PIAC and restore its heydays pride as one of the leading airlines in Asia.