The Chinese company, Shanghai Electric Power (SEP), is reported to have lost interest in Karachi Electric (KE) after showing great enthusiasm to purchase 66.40 percent stakes of M/s Abraaj Capital in Karachi Electric Limited (KEL), reported Business Recorder.
According to the report, the reason behind the hesitance of SEP is the irresponsible and incompetent nature of various government organizations and ministries.
According to some KE officials, the Chinese company has lost interest due to very little progress in key areas. Moreover, the biggest problem being faced by SEP is the approval of NAB to finalize the agreement.
Last year, Shan Ashary, Chairman KESP, wrote a letter to the Minister of Privatization, informing that they had found a reputable company that was willing to take over KE. Furthermore, the letter stated that the company was not only ready to purchase the stake but also inject billions of US dollars to improve the infrastructure in Karachi.
Moreover, the Managing Director of Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited and Chief Executive Officer of KEL were reminded repeatedly by Arif Habib Limited that SEP was still interested in purchasing a total of 18,335,542,678 ordinary shares of K-Electric Limited representing worth 66.40 percent of the total share. However, the company required expeditious approval from the authorities, which to this date has not been given.
SEP had reached out to the Privatization Commission in an attempt to talk about various different issues. In the letter to the Privatization Commission, The Vice Chief Economist of SEP, Shi Mingwei, had also listed different issues that needed to be discussed in order for SEP to purchase the stake.
