Pakistan Sells PIA Above Valuation in Open Auction

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Islamabad
• Dec 23, 2025
• 566

Pakistan’s state-owned flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has been successfully auctioned, with the Arif Habib Group emerging as the highest bidder at ₹4,320 crore, exceeding the government’s reserve price by a significant margin.

The Pakistan government had initially valued the airline at ₹3,200 crore, but competitive bidding pushed the final price ₹1,320 crore higher than expected, marking a major milestone in the country’s privatisation drive.

An intense open bidding round was held between the Arif Habib Group and the Lucky Cement-led consortium. While Lucky Cement raised its offer to ₹4,288 crore, it ultimately fell short of the winning bid. The Arif Habib Group secured the acquisition by submitting the highest final offer.

Earlier, three contenders had entered the race for PIA’s takeover: a consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation, another led by Lucky Cement, and private airline Airblue. All three submitted sealed bids in the first round of the auction. Arif Habib Group led the initial round with a bid of ₹3,680 crore, followed by Lucky Cement at ₹3,248 crore, while Airblue placed a significantly lower bid of ₹848 crore and later withdrew from the process.

The sale of PIA comes amid mounting financial stress on the airline, which has faced years of operational losses, mounting debt, and fleet challenges. The successful auction is being viewed as a crucial step towards restructuring Pakistan’s aviation sector and easing the fiscal burden on the government.

Officials described the bidding outcome as a positive signal for investor confidence, noting that the final valuation surpassed expectations despite PIA’s long-standing financial difficulties. The transaction is expected to proceed towards regulatory approvals and a formal transfer of ownership in the coming weeks.