https://arab.news/byrmk
- Al-Jomaih is one of the largest business groups in Saudi Arabia and a major investor in Pakistani utility K-Electric
- Al-Jomaih bought a 66.4% share in KE in 2005 along with Abraaj Group and Kuwait’s National Industries Group
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Thursday welcomed investment from Saudi Arabia as he met a four-member delegation led by Sheikh Abdulaziz Hamad Al-Jomaih, head of Al-Jomaih Holding Group, one of the largest business groups in Saudi Arabia and a major investor in Pakistani utility K-Electric.
Al-Jomaih bought a 66.4. percent share in KE in 2005 as part of a consortium comprising Al-Jomaih, Abraaj Group and Kuwait’s National Industries Group (NIG). In 2016, the consortium decided to sell the stake to China’s Shanghai Electric Power and submitted an application for a National Security Certificate (NSC) to the Pakistani Privatization Commission. However, the group still awaits approval of the deal due to long-standing issues of KE’s payables and receivables with various government entities.
The process was expedited after visits to Pakistan in the last few years by senior Al-Jomaih officials, who met with Pakistani top government officials including former Prime Ministers Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif to speak about obstacles including regulatory approvals and liquidity constraints as a consequence of mounting circular debt plaguing the country’s power sector.
The government of Pakistan currently owns a 24.4 percent stake in K-Electric, which powers the country’s largest city and commercial hub of Karachi.
“Al-Jomaih Group has invested heavily in Karachi Electric,” Kakar was quoted as saying by the PM office in a statement shared with media. “We value Saudi investment in Pakistan, welcome Saudi investment in Pakistan’s energy sector.”
“The delegation of Al-Jumia Group thanked the Prime Minister and the government team for solving the long-standing problems of Karachi Electric,” the statement added, as the team informed Kakar about new investment projects of 1500MW relying on local sources and renewable energy.
“The PM called on Al-Jomaih group to invest in the alternative energy sector in Pakistan,” the statement concluded.