Adviser to the Finance Minister, Khurram Schehzad has said reforms in State-Owned Enterprises are moving beyond identifying problems to stronger oversight, greater transparency and actual execution.     

In a post on X, he said the latest review of SOEs’ performance during the first half of the current financial year showed that profit-making state-owned enterprises generated aggregate profits of over 423 billion rupees, while loss-making entities recorded losses of 342.8 billion rupees.

He said SOEs contributed around 839 billion rupees to the government, compared with government support of approximately 804 billion rupees, resulting in a positive net fiscal flow of 35 billion rupees for the government.

The Adviser acknowledged that losses remain significant and structural challenges persist in parts of the portfolio. But that is precisely why the Government’s SOEs reform programme is focused on performance, accountability and decisive action.

Khurram Schehzad said government is rationalising the SOEs' footprint through closure, restructuring and privatisation, based on the commercial viability and strategic rationale of individual entities.

He mentioned that operations of Utility Stores Corporation have been closed, while the winding-up process of PASSCO is underway. He said First Women Bank has been privatised, while the majority stake privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines has been completed.

Khurram Schehzad said the principle is straightforward that the government should not remain in businesses where the private sector can operate more efficiently, while SOEs retained in the public sector must become professionally governed, financially disciplined and accountable for results.

The Adviser said reforms in SOEs are ultimately about ensuring that public assets create value rather than become a recurring burden on taxpayers.