Business

Pakistan Refinery Limited, Air Link look to buy Shell Pakistan stake

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

PRL, Air Link interested to buy stake in Shell Pakistan.
Tell PSX in about intention to acquire 77.42% shares.
Shell Petroleum announced to exit Pakistan last month.

Pakistan Refinery Limited and Air Link Communication are seeking to buy a stake in Shell Pakistan, it emerged in a stock filing on Monday.

Shell Petroleum Company announced its exit from Pakistan with the sale of its 77% shareholding in the local business after Shell made several announcements about its global operations, in addition to citing economic challenges within Pakistan.

“We, Next Capital Limited, hereby submit a Public Announcement of Intention by Pakistan Refinery Limited and Air Link Communication Limited (collectively referred to as the “Acquirers”) to acquire 77.42% shares and control of Shell Pakistan Limited,” said Next Capital, which is managing the offer on behalf of the two companies, in a notice to the Pakistan Stocks Exchange (PSX).

“It’s a joint venture between PRL and Airlink. The details of shareholding between Airlink and PRL will be disclosed later,” Airlink CEO Muzzaffar Hayat Piracha told Reuters.

Entering the petroleum business is in line with Airlink’s goal of diversifying, Piracha said. Airlink is a smartphone distributor, manufacturer and retailer.

PRL is one of the five refineries operating in Pakistan and is a subsidiary of Pakistan State Oil Company Limited. PRL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shell Pakistan suffered losses in 2022 due to exchange rates, devaluation of the Pakistani rupee and overdue receivables amid the country’s ongoing financial crisis and an economic slowdown.

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.