His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday issued an edict approving privatisation policies and regulations.

A high privatisation committee will be set up under the chairmanship of a minister, to be appointed as per a Cabinet resolution, with membership from the Finance Ministry, the Economic Development Board and the Civil Service Bureau, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The panel will submit proposals on privatisation plans, study similar proposals by government and follow up on privatisation procedures, including launching tenders and awarding them according to the provisions of the Tender Law.

The committee may also submit recommendations to the Cabinet on amending some laws or regulations impeding the private sector's involvement in importing and providing services for public projects.

The committee will devise clear, impartial and transparent criteria, regulations and procedures that govern the privatisation process, in accordance with the Tender Law. It will determine the interests of all beneficiaries of the project to be privatised and submit proposals to the Cabinet.

According to the edict, the government may be granted a share in the ownership of the companies in charge of the privatised project, in order to be able to veto some resolutions of the boards of those firms that do not serve national interests.

The Finance Ministry will issue the 'Privatisation Guide' that includes all administrative and technical procedures to be followed in the privatisation process. - TradeArabia News Service