Founder of Skywise Airline Joins PIA Bidding Process

Uprise Group has joined the bidding process for buying Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The company is led by Tabassum Pardesi who herself first founded Skywise Airline in 2014. She has been instrumental in shaping the Uprise Group, which includes Uprise Markets, Uprise Africa, and Uprise Aviation, reported TheNews. Pardesi’s involvement with PIA dates back to 2017 when she served briefly as the Director of Customer Services. More on PIA, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved the Scheme of Arrangement between the airline and PIA Holding Company Limited (HoldCo). Earlier this year, the Federal Cabinet approved the segregation of PIA and the Scheme. Last month, the scheme received approval from PIA’s shareholders and creditors. It entails the legal separation of PIA’s core aviation business from non-core activities, transferring non-aviation-related business from PIA to HoldCo. With the scheme’s approval, HoldCo is set to acquire 100 percent shareholding in PIA, with shares also being issued to qualifying shareholders of PIA.