RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan Steel Mills' Board of Directors (BoD) will discuss payment of employees' dues in its meeting to be held today (Tuesday).

Sources told Business Recorder Monday that the BoD meeting, to be chaired by Eng M A Jabbar, will also discuss the fixation of cost of 930 acres of land handed over to National Industrial Pak (NIP) for development of an industrial park at Bin Qasim Karachi.

Approval of salary, retirement benefits including gratuity, provident fund and other dues to PSM employees will top the agenda of the meeting. The court has already directed the PSM management to make payments of employees' dues within one month.

The PSM BoD will also grant approval of annual audited accounts of the mills for the year ended June 30, 2015, besides appointment of auditors for the year 2015-16.

Pak Steel losses and payable liabilities rose to Rs 450 billion as on October 2017 compared with Rs 10 billion accumulated profit on June 30, 2008.

Pak Steel remained 8 years (from July 2000 to June 2008) continuously a profit-earning organization. It was a national asset, which has now been turned into liability by poor policies of the government.

The operation of the mill remained suspended for the last two and half years due to unavailability of gas. Due to closure of the country's largest steel producing plant, an additional $3 billion foreign exchange has been spent on the import of iron and steel.

PSMC witnessed low production from 2008 to 2015 and later total closure of production from June 2015 to October 2017, resulted in increase in trade deficit besides upsetting the country's balance of payment.