The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada witnessing the signing of agreement to form Nebras Power.
BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), Qatar Petroleum International (QPI), and Qatar Holding (QH) yesterday signed a shareholder’s agreement to establish a $1bn new shareholding company named ‘Nebras Power’ aiming to tap the thriving investment opportunities in utility services overseas.
The agreement was signed under the patronage and presence of H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum (QP).
“The new company has been designed on the guidance of the Emir, H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to strengthen cooperation among Qatari companies. It will invest outside Qatar in power generation, water desalination and other services related to the industry,” Dr Al Sada told reporters during the singing ceremony.
It was inked by Fahad Hamad Al Mohannadi, General Manager of QEWC, Nasser bin Khalil Al Jaidah, CEO of QPI, and Ahmad bin Mohammed Al Sayed, Managing Director and CEO of QH.
In Nebras Power, QEWC will own 60 percent stake, and both QPI and QH will have 20 percent each. A board of directors will be responsible for the management of the company and it will be nominated by the shareholders.
Asked if there are specific countries where the Company is looking forward to invest, Al Mohannadi said: “We are focusing on countries where the power sector has witnessed remarkable growth (in some countries 68 percent), most of these countries are in the Middle East and Far East regions. And eventually we will also be evaluating investment opportunities in North African countries.”
Replying questions if the new company will consider investing in Afghanistan’s “promising power sector”, where, according President Hamid Karzai, any investment “will ensure high level of returns”, Al Sada said: “Our agenda is open, wherever we will have viable opportunity with a win-win situation we will not hesitate to invest.”
About the Company’s plan to issue initial public offering (IPO), Al Sada said: “It is just a start, but we don’t know about future.”
He added: “Currently we are studying number of projects outside Qatar, and with in 3-5 years, Nebras Power will have a remarkable status.”
Speaking about QEWC’s existing holdings outside Qatar, whether it will continue to seek opportunities independently, Al Mohannadi said: “QEWC’s foreign holdings will continue to remain as they are, but from today onwards, we will make it sure that only Nebras will invest in new opportunities outside Qatar.”
Al Sayed added: “This strategic partnership will strengthen QEWC’s presence globally with the backing of QH and QPI. Power generation is an important investment sector that is critical to support economic development and can provide attractive financial returns on investment. We wish Nebras Power all the success.”
On behalf of QPI, Nasser Al Jaidah said: “QPI welcomes this new partnership with QEWC and QH. We acknowledge the importance of strengthening the scale, scope, and diversity of Qatar’s international investments, which are aligned with the Qatar National Vision 2030.”
QEWC, QPI and QH each have large investments outside Qatar and the new company (Nebras Power) will benefit from the collective expertise of all the shareholders in its future international investments.
The Peninsula
