Cabinet committee approves changes to boards of NESPAK, HESCO and SEPCO

Finance minister calls for competent, experienced officials to serve as ex-officio directors on SOE boards

The Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) on Tuesday approved proposals concerning the appointment of a chairman/independent director at National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK), the reconstitution of the board of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and the appointment of an independent director to the board of Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO), according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the committee chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Finance Division. "The Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) was held today under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, at the Finance Division," the statement said.

Minister for Science and Technology Khalid Hussain Magsi also attended the meeting along with relevant Federal Secretaries and senior representatives of various ministries, divisions and regulatory bodies.

The statement said the committee considered two agenda items concerning the appointment of a chairman/independent director at NESPAK and the reconstitution of HESCO's board, alongside the appointment of an independent director to SEPCO's board.

"After deliberations, both proposals were approved," the Finance Division said.

"The finance minister emphasised that government representatives serving as ex-officio directors on these boards should be appropriately placed, competent and possess the requisite experience and institutional understanding to effectively represent their respective divisions," the statement concluded.

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The appointments came amid the government's broader efforts to improve governance and performance at state-owned enterprises (SOEs), particularly power distribution companies. In May 2025, the boards of most distribution companies had been reconstituted, but the process for Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO) was still being finalised.

The government had said the new boards were intended to strengthen corporate governance, strategic oversight and operational efficiency.

The reconstitution of distribution company boards followed concerns over their performance and governance. In June 2024, the government had moved to replace the boards of loss-making power distribution companies amid allegations of poor governance and political influence.

The Power Division had cited projected losses of Rs589 billion across 10 government-owned distribution companies during the then-ongoing fiscal year.

The State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Amendment Bill, 2024, was subsequently passed by the Senate in July that year. The legislation aimed to improve the efficiency and independence of SOE boards by introducing an institutionalised mechanism for appointing independent directors, providing for a majority of independent directors and setting criteria for their removal and tenure.