IESCO, FESCO sell-off moves ahead
Muhammad Ali also serves as the Chairman of the Privatisation Commission.
Despite lawmakers' objections that the privatisation of power distribution companies (DISCOs) fell within the constitutional remit of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the Privatisation Commission Board on Thursday approved key measures to sell-off Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco).
The privatisation division has maintained that no fresh CCI approval was required in light of the 2011 decision and the 2021 National Electricity Policy.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali had told a subcommittee of the Senate Functional Committee on Devolution that no new CCI approval was needed for the privatisation of Discos. He added that the companies had caused losses of more than $30 billion over the past 15 years.
Iesco forms part of the first batch of DISCOs identified for privatisation, alongside Fesco and Gujranwala Electric Power Company Limited (Gepco).
On Thursday, the board met under the chairmanship of Muhammad Ali, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation and Chairman of the Privatisation Commission.
The board approved the prequalification of 10 Interested Parties (IPs) for IESCO's privatisation. The 10 prequalified Interested Parties will now proceed to the next stage of the transaction in accordance with the approved process, including access to the Virtual Data Room (VDR) to undertake detailed buy-side due diligence.
In a separate agenda item, the board approved the addition of consortium members to Artistic Milliners (Pvt) Limited, a prequalified Interested Party for FESCO's privatisation.
The approved arrangement will facilitate the consortium's participation across the Batch-I DISCO transactions, subject to applicable transaction requirements.
The Board also approved modifications to the transaction structure and restructuring plan for the privatisation of ZTBL.
In another key decision, the board approved the selection of the consortium led by Deutsche Bank as the top-ranked Interested Party for appointment as Financial Adviser for the privatisation of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC).