Representatives of a consortium of Chinese investment companies comprising China Huarong International Holdings Limited, China Innovative Finance Group Limited, Hong Kong Tian Group, Chandong Hi-Speed Group and China Road & Bridge Group called on Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at PM House today.
Warmly welcoming the delegation, the Prime Minister appreciated the Chinese delegation’s fruitful interaction with Ministries of Finance, Petroleum & Natural Resources, Water & Power and Capital Development Authority. The Prime Minister expressed hope that members of the Chinese delegation will have a productive visit in the backdrop of briefing by various Ministries about immense potential for investment in Pakistan’s infrastructure development, energy and communication sectors.
The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the leadership and brotherly people of the People’s Republic of China for their all weather support that is getting stronger with each passing day. CPEC is a game changer that is going to transform the lives of the billions of people of the region, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said that the economic outlook of Pakistan has altogether changed in the last three years, which is being acknowledged globally. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has also upgraded Pakistan’s ranking to B from B-; Pakistan is among this year’s global top 10 improvers in Doing Business 2017, the Prime Minister expressed with satisfaction. Inflation is continuously on downward trend; reduction in petroleum prices also helped in decreasing inflation, further added the Prime Minister. The Foreign Exchange Reserves have now increased to over US$ 24 billion, the Prime Minister apprised the delegation.
Our Investment Policy has been designed to provide a comprehensive framework for creating a conducive business environment for the attraction of FDI, the Prime Minister said. Pakistan’s policy trends have been consistent, with liberalization, de-regulation, privatization, and facilitation being its foremost cornerstone, stated the Prime Minister. The Law of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) has been made to meet the global challenges of competitiveness to attract Foreign Director Investment (FDI).
Members of the visiting delegation lauded the vision of the Prime Minister for economic revival and putting the country on development path. The members of the delegation said that Pakistan is fully ready as well as capable of absorbing and capitalising the Foreign Direct Investment. The delegation apprised the Prime Minister that they are bringing US $ three billion Investment Fund to Pakistan because of the vision of the Prime Minister that focus on infrastructure development and energy sectors. The Chinese delegation also expressed its intent to explore possibility of starting a new airline in Pakistan after the permission from the government of Pakistan. The Chinese side said that it is actively pursuing its investments in infrastructure, power, aviation and tourism sectors of Pakistan. We fully appreciate the vision of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif which enunciates that economic prosperity is an offshoot of infrastructure connectivity and self sufficiency in the energy sector, the members of the delegation stated. The members of the delegation said that the present government under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has done enormous work in infrastructure development and achieving energy self sufficiency. The present government has very liberal investment regime that offers an ideal and investor friendly environment for which the leadership role of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is highly appreciated, said the members of the delegation.
Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chairman Board of Investment Mr. Miftah Ismail, Mayor Islamabad Sh. Ansar Aziz and other senior government officials were also present during the meeting.
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