SYDNEY, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two of Australia's biggest infrastructure investors have made an unsolicited bid for the partial long-term lease of New South Wales's biggest electricity network, Ausgrid.
NSW Premier Mike Baird in a statement on Friday said an experienced cross-agency panel will assess the proposal from the AustralianSuper and IFM Investors, a global provider of investment services.
"The government can receive unsolicited proposals at any time and has a thorough process in place to assess such proposals," Baird said in a statement.
It comes after Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison last month rejected the Baird government's preferred bidders Chinese government-owned State Grid Corp and Hong Kong-listed Cheung Kong Infrastructure from buying the network due to "national security concerns".
The decision was seen as a major setback for the Baird government, who are hoping to reap more than 10 billion Australian dollars (7.65 U.S. billion dollars) for the asset to help raise funds for infrastructure projects.
NSW state treasurer Gladys Berejiklian said that while the government will give the new unsolicited bid its full consideration, preparations to re-launch the Ausgrid transaction were continuing.
"This unsolicited proposal is another indication of the strong market interest for Ausgrid," she said.
A final decision on the proposal is expected to be made later this year.
Ausgrid is a state owned electricity infrastructure company, which owns, maintains and operates the electrical distribution networks to 1.6 million customers in Sydney, Central Coast, Hunter Region and Newcastle areas of NSW.
