Employees to get OGDC shares worth Rs36 billion

ISLAMABAD: Over 10,500 employees of the Oil and Gas Development Company will get 438 million shares worth Rs36 billion from government holding from Aug 26, says federal Minister for Petroleum Naveed Qamar.

Mr Qamar, who announced the scheme at a press conference here on Wednesday, said: ‘Twelve per cent shares will be allocated from government holding of 73 per cent in the company’ under the Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme in State-Owned Entities.

Mr Qamar said that an employee would get between Rs270,000 (1 x 3,000 shares x Rs90 per share) and Rs5,400,000 (20 x 3,000 shares x Rs90) on the basis of the length of his service.

Based on the dividend paid last year, the employees would also benefit from dividends ranging from Rs14, 250 (3,000 shares x Rs4.75 per share) to Rs285,000 (60,000 shares x Rs4.75 per share) each.

He said employees would form a trust in which three representatives each of employees and the government would be nominated.

The minister said the shares being offered to the employees would be bought back on their leaving the service. In the event of death of an employee, his or her legal heirs would get the amount.

He said the shares could not be sold in the market. ‘The scheme would create a sense of ownership among the workers and they would do more drilling and discoveries which would directly benefit the entity, government and the workers in the future. The necessity to implement BESOS in the loss-making units was of much importance to make such entities profitable,’ he added.

Qamar said the government was trying to solve workers’ problems. ‘We are … reinstating sacked employees, restoring trade union activities and repealing anti-worker laws.’

He said the government would aggressively implement the workers’ shares scheme to make workers partners in the country’s future.

Corporatisation of state-owned entities established under a special act or ordinance would also be taken up soon by the Privatisation Commission. A cell will be created in the Privatisation Commission for the purpose.

OGDCL was established as a statutory corporation in 1961 and made self-financing in July 1989. The company was incorporated as a public limited company in October, 1997.

OGDC’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) of five per cent shares was conducted in November 2003 while Secondary Public Offering (SPO) of 0.5 per cent shares was held in April 2007.

The Global Depositary Receipt with 0.5 per cent shares of OGDC was conducted in December 2006 with its listing on the London Stock Exchange in December 2006.Link...