Federal Government’s State-Owned Enterprises Report: Losses and Profits in 2023

Islamabad:The federal government has released a performance report of its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for the period of July to December 2023. According to the data, these enterprises incurred a loss of **147 billion rupees** during the first half of the fiscal year. The total losses of state-owned institutions from 2014 to 2023 have now reached **5.9 trillion rupees**.

To mitigate these losses, the government provided **436 billion rupees** in financial assistance to SOEs over the last six months. Despite this, some state-run entities showed impressive gains. The report indicates that SOEs saw a **45% increase** in profits, earning a total of **510 billion rupees** in the same period. Of this amount, **249 billion rupees** came from entities included in the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund.

**OGDC (Oil and Gas Development Company Limited)** was the highest performer, generating **113.2 billion rupees** in profits. Other profitable institutions included **PPL (Pakistan Petroleum Limited)**, **National Power Parks Management**, **PARCO**, **Government Holdings**, and **National Bank of Pakistan**.

However, despite the overall improvement in some sectors, several SOEs continued to suffer significant losses. **NHA (National Highway Authority)** reported the largest loss of **151.3 billion rupees**, followed by **Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO)** with **56.2 billion rupees** and **Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)**, which incurred a loss of **51.7 billion rupees**.

Other institutions that faced losses include **Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO)** with a loss of **39 billion rupees**, **Pakistan Railways** with **23.6 billion rupees**, **Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO)** with **20.9 billion rupees**, **Pakistan Steel Mills** with **14.4 billion rupees**, and **IESCO (Islamabad Electric Supply Company)**, which suffered a loss of **12.1 billion rupees**.

The report also highlighted that despite the losses, state-owned entities contributed **200 billion rupees** in tax revenues, marking a **14% increase** compared to the previous period.

While some enterprises have managed to improve their financial standing, the report underscores the need for significant reforms to address the persistent losses in various sectors.