K-Electric

K-Electric Limited (KE), formerly known as Karachi Electric Supply Company Limited or Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Limited, is a Pakistani utility company based in Karachi.

Privatised in 2005, KE is the only vertically integrated utility in Pakistan supplying electricity within a 6500 km square territory including Karachi and its adjoining areas. The shares of the company are listed in the PSX out of which, majority shares (66.4%) are owned by KES Power, a consortium of investors including Al-Jomaih Power Limited of Saudi Arabia, National Industries Group of Kuwait, and the Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund (IGCF). The Government of Pakistan is also one of the major shareholders with 24.36% holding in the company.

KE serves power to 3.7 million customers across Karachi, Dhabeji, and Gharo in Sindh, as well as Uthal, Vinder, and Bela in Balochistan.

History

In 1913, the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) was formed to meet the power needs of a small port town called Karachi, then a small fishing village and port town, today one of the largest cities of the world.

In 1952, The Government of Pakistan nationalised KESC in order to facilitate the rapid increase in power demand following a surge in the population of Karachi.

In 1999, Pakistan Army assumed control of the KESC. During the 2002-03 fiscal year, a major restructuring was undertaken, which included swapping Rs83 billion worth of debt for equity. Additionally, KESC reduced its capital by Rs57 billion to address its significant accumulated losses.

In September 2003, the Privatization Commission of Pakistan initiated the sale of a 73% stake in Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), inviting expressions of interest from potential buyers. After a year of rigorous due diligence by three pre-qualified bidders, a pre-bid conference was held on October 7, 2004, with the final bidding occurring on February 4, 2005. The consortium of Kanooz al Watan won the bid with an offer of Rs1.65 per share, totaling Rs20.24 billion, but failed to deposit the bid amount by the deadline despite receiving extensions. After unsuccessful attempts to secure payment, the Letter of Acceptance issued to Kanooz al Watan was cancelled and the second highest bidder i.e. the consortium of Hassan Associates was asked to match the bid of Kanooz al Watan and make payment as per the agreed bidding document. Before the payment, consortium was reconstituted to include KES Power Limited in place of some outgoing consortium members. After going through pre-qualification process and making the requisite payments, and with all the relevant approvals, the consortium of Hassan Associates acquired the majority shareholding of 73% in KESC. Subsequently, other consortium members divested their investment in KE through open market and KES Power became the single largest shareholder of KE. At present, KES Power has 66.40% shareholding in KE while KES Power itself is owned by Al-Jomaih Power (27.7%), Denham Investment (18.5%) and IGCF SPV 21 (53.8%).

See also

* List of electric supply companies in Pakistan
* Electricity Sector in Pakistan

References

External links

K-Electric official website

KESC name changed to KE

KE participates in boxing championship
Pakistan Today (newspaper)

KE Women's Boxing Tournament
The Express Tribune (newspaper)

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Companies based in Karachi
Companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange
Companies in the KSE 100 Index
Distribution companies of Pakistan
Energy companies established in 1913
Mergers and acquisitions of Pakistani companies
Pakistani subsidiaries of foreign companies
Formerly government-owned companies of Pakistan
2005 mergers and acquisitions
Indian companies established in 1913
Generation companies