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Aussies clear 4 bidders for power grid
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All four shortlisted bidders for a prized Australian power grid have been cleared by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), in a partial privatization that is all but certain to come under intense political scrutiny.
The final binding bids for the lucrative New South Wales state government-owned asset TransGrid, which owns the NSW electricity grid and fiber optic cable networks in NSW and the Australian capital territory, were received yesterday, with the winning bidder to be announced by the end of the year.
The bids included a Chinese-Australian consortium — State Grid Corp of China, and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets — a Canada-Australia joint venture, an Abu Dhabi investment firm as well as Kuwaiti and local interests, according to Fairfax Media.
The New South Wales government made clear to bidders that they wanted unconditional offers and therefore each consortium was required to obtain the FIRB and other relevant regulatory approval prior to submission yesterday.
Meanwhile, it is understood all relevant information on the asset sale had been passed onto relevant authorities to accurately assess the suitability of all bidders.
The decision, due by year’s end, is likely to put Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in the political headlights following the lease of the Darwin port to China’s Landbridge as the Australian public scrutinizes asset sales to foreign investors.
The Darwin port was not subject to FIRB scrutiny, which reviews all Chinese asset purchases over A$252 million (US$181 million) as it was a state asset and leased, not sold.
However, it is a different story with TransGrid which owns cables that support defense bases and intelligence facilities.
A spokesperson for Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison said yesterday that all relevant Commonwealth agencies with an interest in the ownership of the “critical infrastructure” were involved in the discussions with all relevant bidders.
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