By Salman Siddiqui
Copyright brecorder
KARACHI: K-Electric (KE) has proposed the launch of a perpetual Sukuk or a bond for 100 years at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to mobilise new financing, as size of the listed Sukuk grew to Rs3 trillion at the bourse.
“I want KE to do a perpetual Sukuk (Shariah-compliant bond),” KE CEO Moonis Alvi said while speaking at the formal listing of KE Retail Sukuk at Rs100/unit at the PSX on Tuesday.
Alvi asked his team to initiate work for the perpetual Sukuk or a bond of 100 years tenure.
A perpetual bond (sukuk) is a fixed income security with no maturity date, meaning the principal is never repaid. While not redeemable, these bonds offer consistent interest payments indefinitely, often positioning them as equity rather than debt, according to the information available on Investopedia website.
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The perpetual Sukuk under the consideration might not be of a big amount. “It may start with Rs1 billion or Rs2 billion,” he said.
“Our neighboring country India has done that. In European markets and China, it is a norm. We have demonstrated the resilience. We need to be the first one to do this,” KE chief said.
KE, previously Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), is now a 112 years old firm.
“This is the company that has survived partition, world wars, 1971 crisis, pandemic (Covid 19) and what not. This is still operating. It is going nowhere. It will continue to operate. People have expressed trust in the power firm through investing hugely in the firm through Sukuk.
“The KE Retail Sukuk received an overwhelming response. Its initial public offering was oversubscribed by 2.2x times against the targeted size of Rs2 billion,” Alvi said.
KE offers profit at the rate of three-month KIBOR (Karachi Inter-Bank Offered Rate) plus 0.2%, a KE official told Business Recorder on the sidelines of the formal listing of the Sukuk.
Meanwhile, PSX CEO Farrukh H Sabzwari said the bourse had listed Sukuk worth Rs3 trillion, as it collaborated with Ministry of Finance and other concerned stakeholders to develop ecosystem for the equity and debt markets at the PSX.
PSX formally listed KE Retail Sukuk at a gong ceremony on Tuesday, making its units available for trade among investors at the bourse. This is Pakistan’s first-ever retail listed short-term Islamic debt instrument.
KE has offered its residential and commercial consumers to get their monthly utility bills adjusted against monthly profits to be earned on investment made in the Sukuk.
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The Karachi-based privatised power firm would utilise the mobilised amount of Rs2 billion to “meet KE’s operational and working capital requirements,” according to a press statement.
The Sukuk was officially listed on September 3, 2025. The bond would mature in one year, meaning the power firm would return the debt to its unit holders on September 3, 2026.
