KE’s power struggle comes to an end with Saudis on top and SIFC backing

It took a decade of stalled deals, diplomatic nudges, and bruised egos, but the government has finally managed to untangle one of Pakistan’s longest-running corporate knots. The ownership dispute over K-Electric—the country’s only vertically integrated power utility—has been settled.

According to a report by The Express Tribune, Pakistani investor Sheheryar Chishty has agreed to step aside and hand over his controlling stake in K-Electric’s parent company, KES Power Ltd, to Saudi prince Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Saud. 

The deal marks what officials describe as the largest Saudi investment yet in Pakistan’s power sector. It also points towards the growing importance of Saudi investors in Pakistan and the government’s willingness to make room for them where necessary. 

According to Tribune’s report, the deal was achieved with mediation from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and behind-the-scenes diplomacy that reportedly involved Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s own outreach to Riyadh. 

The agreement ends a bitter ownership battle that had spilled into courtrooms and cabinet meetings. Saudi investors have been involved in KE in some capacity or the other for more than 20 years now. They first got involved in the company when the Musharraf Administration made the decision to privatize KE in 2005. Saudi and Kuwaiti shareholders have had stakes in KES Power since then, but when Mr Chishty entered the scene in 2022, they viewed it as a coup. His purchase of Abraaj Group’s old stake through his investment vehicle, AsiaPak Investments, has been hotly contested since then. 

The Saudis have consistently demanded answers about his source of funds and pressed the Pakistani government to intervene. It is this persistence that seems to have paid off.