Overview
- Pakistan and the UAE signed the privatisation agreement in Islamabad, witnessed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and a UAE delegation led by Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan.
- The negotiated transaction was executed under the IGCT framework that waives competitive bidding, following cabinet approvals and a price set above the reference cleared by the CCoIGCT.
- The buyer will be allowed up to five years to meet the Rs10 billion Minimum Capital Requirement, with about Rs6.8 billion to be injected on top of FWBL’s roughly Rs3.2 billion equity.
- IHC says it will modernise the bank through core system upgrades, digital and AI-enabled services, a rebranding, and branch expansion from FWBL’s current 42-location network.
- The sale permits immediate retrenchment of up to 10% of staff while restricting further layoffs for at least 18 months, and officials present it as an early step toward deeper UAE–Pakistan investment.