Shell Petroleum decides to sell its shares, exit Pakistani market

Islamabad: Global energy giant Shell Petroleum on Wednesday made the decision to sell its shares and decided to exit the Pakistani market, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.

Shell Petroleum Company Limited (SPCo) announced its intent to sell its shareholding in Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL) during its meeting with the Board of Directors of SPL. Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL) is a subsidiary of Shell Petroleum Company Limited, United Kingdom. SPCL is a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Shell Pakistan spokesperson in a statement said, "Any sale will be subject to a targeted sales process, the execution of binding documentation and the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. Shell is seeing strong interest from international buyers," according to ARY News report.

According to the Shell Pakistan spokesperson, the announcement of the sale of shares by the global petroleum giant company will not affect the business operations of the company.

In a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Shell Pakistan said, "We hereby inform you that the Board of Directors of Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL), in a meeting of its Board, held on June 14, 2023, have been notified by The Shell Petroleum Company Limited (SPCo) of its intent to sell its shareholding in SPL," Pakistan-based Geo News reported.

Earlier in May, Shell Pakistan Limited announced its financial performance for the first quarter of 2023, which was severely affected by the ongoing economic crisis in Pakistan, ARY News reported.

The earnings of the company turned crimson in the 1QFY23 in comparison to a similar period last year, from a profit after tax of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 2 billion. The company suffered a loss of PKR 4.6 billion. The loss came amid the unprecedented devaluation of the Pakistani Rupees, rising inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is set to face a burden of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 7.3 trillion in the next fiscal year, as interest payments on domestic and foreign debt continue to increase, Pakistan-based The Express Tribune reported.

Initially, the Pakistani government had budgeted PKR 3.9 trillion to cover markup on loans for the ongoing fiscal year 2022-23. However, revised estimates have revealed that the spending on interest payments rose to PKR 5.52 trillion, according to The Express Tribune report.

The budget had allocated PKR 3.43 trillion for interest payments on domestic debt. However, the revised figures have shown that the actual amount reached PKR 4.7 trillion. Meanwhile, the Pakistani government had initially intended to spend PKR 510.9 billion on interest payments for foreign debt. However, the figure rose to PKR 7725.3 billion.