ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission Board on Friday approved the prequalification of 10 out of 12 interested parties (IPs) for the sale of Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), after K-Electric (KE) withdrew its papers and a lone Chinese firm failed to demonstrate sufficient interest in the competition.
The development came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the relevant authorities to adopt a “comprehensive strategy” earlier this month to attract international investors for the privatisation of state-owned power distribution companies (Discos) and complete the restructuring of the Privatisation Commission within one month.
Informed sources said KE, the country’s only privatised power utility, had decided to withdraw rather than risk being disqualified due to the non-availability of its financial accounts for the past two years — a key requirement.
They said the company would bid for another distribution company (Disco) as part of a consortium with Shahryar Chishti’s AsiaPak Investments, one of KE’s major shareholders.
“K-Electric has withdrawn its Expression of Interest (EOI) for Fesco’s privatisation,” a KE spokesperson confirmed when contacted. He added that the decision was taken because the Disco’s audited financial statements were not yet available, pending finalisation of the company’s Multi-Year Tariff (MYT), which was beyond KE’s control.
