KARACHI, DEC 07, (DNA) -The Shanghai Electric Power Company on Tuesday unveiled a $9 billion investment plan to improve transmission, distribution and generation systems of K-Electric (KE) – the power utility it proposed to acquire for $1.7 billion, a statement said.

“Shanghai Electric Power along with the management of KE presented its business plan worth $9 billion for improving and adding value to the KE power infrastructure,” the statement added.

It said a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy, chaired by Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Water and Power, discussed the K-Electric’s transaction. Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources and chairmen Privatization Commission and Board of Investment attended the meeting.

“Shanghai Electric, one of the largest companies in power sector in China, also shared its profile and international expertise and similar experience (at the meeting),” the statement added.

The Dubai-based Abraaj Group, in October, signed an agreement to sell its 66.4 percent shareholding in KE to Shanghai Electric,       a subsidiary of the State Power Investment Corporation of China. Upon completion,

it will be one of the largest private sector transactions in Pakistan and represents one of the global power industry’s most well-recognised operational turnaround stories. The government owns about 24 percent in KE.

The agreement is subject to regulatory approval, and the transaction will close once customary closing conditions and requisite regulatory approvals are obtained. The deal, when materialises, will be the biggest private-sector acquisition in the country’s history.

China has stepped up investment in Pakistan as part of a $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor unveiled last year. The neighbouring country is investing in infrastructure, power and transport projects.

KE, formerly known as Karachi Electric Corporation, set up in 1913 as a public sector company, was sold to Saudi Arabia’s Aljomaih Group in 2005, which in turn sold it to Abraaj in 2009. K-Electric has exclusive distribution rights for Karachi and its adjoining areas, serving 2.5 million consumers. It is involved both in thermal power generation and distribution.=DNA

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