Pakistan has pre-qualified 10 domestic and international investor groups for the privatisation of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco), signaling strong interest in one of the government's first major electricity distribution-company sales as it seeks to attract private capital and improve the sector's efficiency.
The Privatisation Commission Board approved the prequalification of 10 interested parties in its meeting Thursday, clearing the way for them to conduct detailed due diligence through the transaction's Virtual Data Room. The shortlisted investors include three Turkish energy companies - Aktor Elektrik Enerji Yatirimlari, Genvera Enerji, and Cengiz Enerji - as well as major Pakistani business groups and consortia.
Other individual local companies are Sapphire Fibers, Novatex, Bestway Cement, and Engro Energy. The three consortia are the Hub Power Holding-led consortium that comprises Lucky Cement, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures Ltd.; the Artistic Milliners (Pvt) Limited Consortium, which comprises The Lake City Holdings, Fatima Capital Limited, Din Ventures (Pvt) Limited, and Fazal Cloth Mills Limited; and the Hasnaat Brothers Construction Co. (Pvt) Limited Consortium, which comprises Dhilal Holding Group, Pak Steel, Bio-Labs (Pvt) Limited, and Farid Steel Casting (Pvt) Limited.
The board separately approved the addition of consortium members to Artistic Milliners for the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) transaction, allowing the group to participate across the Batch-I distribution company (Disco) privatisation process. The board also approved changes to the restructuring and transaction plan for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd., with the revised structure aimed at preserving the bank's focus on agricultural and farmer financing after privatisation.
In another major decision, the board selected a Deutsche Bank-led consortium as the top-ranked bidder to serve as financial adviser for the privatisation of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan. This move is part of a broader economic reform agenda aimed at reducing the fiscal burden on the national exchequer caused by loss-making state-owned enterprises.
By offloading these entities to the private sector, the government hopes to introduce modern management practices and technological upgrades. The privatisation process is being closely monitored by international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as a key benchmark for Pakistan's ongoing economic stabilization program.
The Privatisation Commission has emphasized that the process will be conducted with full transparency, ensuring that the valuation of assets is accurate and that the interests of the employees and consumers are protected during the transition. Further rounds of bidding and negotiations are expected in the coming months as the government moves toward finalizing the sale of these strategic assets to improve the overall health of the energy and financial sectors.