The Pakistan Privatization Commission announced the eight prospective bidders for the Karachi Electric Supply Corp. The government wants to sell the company as a single unit.
The bidders are: ABB with the Army Welfare Trust and the Deutsche Bank Group; CMS Energy; a Daewoo-led consortium; Marubeni; the UK National Grid Co; Tractebel; UAE Offsets Group; and Union Fenosa Group.
According to the financial adviser to the Privatization Commission, the Union Bank of Switzerland, the privatization will be completed by October. Between 26 per cent and 51 per cent of the share in the company will be sold. However, it is not clear if the sale will take place through open bidding or by direct negotiations with a prospective investor.
Whoever buys the company will have to invest between $250-300 million to refurbish the KESC distribution system.
