A bad deal

This refers to the news report ‘Govt revs up efforts to finalise overdue KE stake sale’ (Dec 9). I would like to bring this to the honourable president's attention that it is surprising that the government – the relevant ministries/authorities – is not concerned about the fact that K-Electric (KE) is a ‘monopoly’, and transferring its shares to a foreign company owned by a foreign government would be a recipe for disaster. Shanghai Electric Power (SEP) is a powerful Chinese company and will dictate its terms and guidelines for the determination of future power tariffs. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Is history repeating itself? It seems that another East India Company is in the offing.

In my opinion, a consortium of local investors should be encouraged to acquire the shares of the KES Power Limited, which is KE’s parent company, either directly or through the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE). If we can’t restructure a company which dominates a huge captive market, would I be wrong in asking the following: Why shouldn’t we hand over Pakistan to China? Also, it is important to mention that KE’s monopoly is a blatant violation of the Competition Act 2017 the preamble of which clearly discourages monopolies.

Nazim Haji

Karachi