diff --git a/src/launch-libvirt.c b/src/launch-libvirt.c
index c55158cbf..918089988 100644
--- a/src/launch-libvirt.c
+++ b/src/launch-libvirt.c
@@ -868,6 +868,9 @@ construct_libvirt_xml_cpu (guestfs_h *g,
   XMLERROR (-1,
             xmlTextWriterWriteAttribute (xo, BAD_CAST "name",
                                          BAD_CAST "kvmclock"));
+  XMLERROR (-1,
+            xmlTextWriterWriteAttribute (xo, BAD_CAST "present",
+                                         BAD_CAST "yes"));
   XMLERROR (-1, xmlTextWriterEndElement (xo));
   XMLERROR (-1, xmlTextWriterEndElement (xo));