ISLAMABAD: Ten FESCO privatisation bidders have been prequalified to advance to the next stage of the transaction. The Privatisation Commission said this on Friday.
The decision was approved at the 258th meeting of the Privatisation Commission Board. This meeting was chaired by Muhammad Ali, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation and the commission’s chairman.
The board was told that 12 expressions of interest had been received for Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO). After evaluating the submissions against approved criteria, the financial adviser recommended 10 interested parties for prequalification.
The approved bidders are Aktor Elektrik Enerji Yatirimlari San. Ve Tic., Genvera Enerji, Cengiz Enerji Sanayii Ve Ticaret, Engro Energy Limited, Sapphire Fibres Limited, Shirazi Investments (Pvt) Limited and Artistic Milliners (Pvt) Limited.
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Also prequalified was a Hub Power Holdings consortium. This consortium comprises Lucky Cement, Kohat Cement and Metro Ventures. A Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited consortium, involving Kohinoor Textile Mills, was also prequalified. Furthermore, a Pakgen Limited consortium comprising Nishat Mills, Nishat Power, Nishat Chunian, Lalpir, Pak Elektron and Kohinoor Energy was on the list.
The prequalified parties will now receive access to the Virtual Data Room for detailed buy-side due diligence. After that, they will proceed under the approved transaction process.
FESCO is among the first three electricity distribution companies targeted for privatisation. The other two are the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO).
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has previously directed authorities to accelerate the privatisation of electricity distribution companies. At the same time, he emphasised maintaining transparency and establishing a regulatory framework for their transition to private ownership.
