President Asif Ali Zardari assured the Shanghai electricity company on Monday that “any pending problem” would be solved friendly when he invited the company to invest in Pakistan’s energy infrastructure.
The firm last week decided to terminate its offer to acquire up to 66.4 percent of K-Electric LTD due to changes in the Pakistan business environment. He added that since the planning of the “purchase of main assets”, the company had strictly adhered to the laws, regulations and relevant regulatory documents, actively promoting the various tasks involved in this purchase of main assets.
“Since the counterpart has constantly failed to meet the preceding conditions for the closure and changes in the business environment in Pakistan they have made this transaction no longer aligned with the company of international development of the company, after a careful study and analysis, to effectively safeguard the interests of the company and all its shareholders, the company has decided to finish this great purchase of action,” he said.
Ke is the only generator of electricity, transmitter and distributor of Karachi and its adjacent areas, and the only electricity supplier listing. He was privatized in 2005. Shanghai Electric Power had agreed to buy a controlling participation in KE of the Abraj group in 2016 for a sum of $ 1.77 billion. The transaction never materialized because the seller could not obtain the required approvals of different authorities and liquidity limitations as a consequence of the growing circular debt in the country’s electrical sector.
President Zardari met today the electric president of Shanghai, Wu Lei, and then visited the company’s facilities in Shanghai while he was on a 10 -day trip to China.
“He invited Shanghai Electric to explore a greater investment in the modernization of the Pakistan transmission and distribution network. President Zardari assured Shanghai Electric that any pending problem would be solved in a friendly way and in a spirit of mutual cooperation,” said a PPP statement.
The president also thanked the president for the company’s contribution to meet Pakistan’s energy needs, generate employment and support socioeconomic development.
President Zardari further reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to improve security measures to guarantee a safe and conducive environment for Chinese workers in the country, with the CEO Lin Jigen expressing his gratitude to the government for the security agreements provided to their employees who work in Pakistan.
The president of the company gave an informative session about his projects in Pakistan, including his work in Thar coal, nuclear energy and coal power plants.
President Zardari stressed the importance of Pakistan joining the development of the Thar coal project, including the charcoal gasification potential, and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a carbon gasification plant in Thar.
The MOU was signed between MFTC Coal Gasification and Manufacturing (PVT) LTD and but Sindo Sindh Resources (Private) LTD/Shanghai Electric.
The statement said that this was the first coal and fertilizer gasification project based on Thar coal, which would not only contribute to meet the country’s energy needs, but also play a vital role in supporting the agricultural sector.
The President was Accompanied by First Lady Bibi Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Senator Salem Mandviwal Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi.
