China’s Shanghai’s Electric submits bid to acquire Pakistan-based utility

China’s state-owned Shanghai Electric Power Company has submitted a fresh public announcement of intention (PAI) to acquire up to 66.4 per cent stake in Pakistan’s vertically integrated power utility K-Electric Limited from the Dubai-based Abraaj Group. It is yet to determine the price at which the long-pending deal will be executed. With this, the Chinese firm has received a nine-month extension for the acquisition. This is the fourth time that the former has submitted a PAI for the deal since October 2016, due to delays in receiving the required approvals. In October 2016, the Abraaj Group announced that a deal had been struck at $1.77 billion. Under the new application, Shanghai Electric has offered a 15-20 per cent lower price, incorporating the less-than-expected increase in power tariff for end consumers by the regulator of Pakistan, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.