Islamabad, Sep8: The Government Holding Private Limited (GHPL) investment of Rs89.550 billion in US dollars in the Reko Diq project of Balochistan has drawn strong criticism from the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) for not guaranteeing the availability of money and necessary foreign currency.
On the advice of the federal government, GHPL purchased an 8.33% ownership part in the Reko Diq project. Barrick owns 50% of the Reko Diq project, while three State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) GHPL, OGDCL, and PPL own 25%. The Balochistani provincial government owns 15% of the project fully funded and 10% on a free-carried basis.
The board of directors decided in a meeting held on June 15, 2023, in compliance with the ECC’s decision on March 15, 2022, to reallocate reserves of Rs51.230 billion back to accumulated profits and to accumulate new reserves of Rs20 billion over the next four years by allocating Rs5 billion annually for the Reko Diq project.
The first phase of Reko Diq’s development would last until 2028, at which point copper and gold production would begin, according to a meeting of the Board Audit Committee held on May 10, 2023. Phase I of GHPL would require a committed investment of $398 million, or Rs89550 million.
On December 11, 2023, GHPL management replied to the audit paragraph, stating that there was no liquidity risk to the GHPL firm, With $0.130 billion, the company was able to pay off its whole debt to the Reko Diq Project in 2023, which can be used to assess its strong cash flow situation.The company’s cash and cash equivalents as of June 30.
The Companies Act of 2017 specifies that “the board shall manage the company’s business.”Additionally, during its August 25, 2022 meeting, the GHPL board’s finance, procurement, and risk management committee was notified that the major fields are naturally falling, which will cause a decline in the estimated selling volume for the fiscal year 2022–2023.
