“To accelerate the pace of inclusive economic growth,
Pakistan should learn from the experiences of China and Malaysia in creating
Special Economic Zones and Economic Corridors’. This was stated at a workshop
on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as
Drivers of Economic Development organized by CAREC Institute in
collaboration with Board of Investment, Government of Pakistan from 20-22
December, 2017 in Marriot Hotel, Islamabad. Approximately 35 mid to senior
level officers from federal, provincial and regional governments participated
in the training. The workshop was organized in several sessions focusing on the
design, implementation and management of SEZs across the region. Mr.
Sanjaasuren Bayara, Director of CAREC Institute gave the overview of the
workshop in his welcome remarks and explained CAREC Institute’s role in
capacity building and knowledge sharing among the 11 CAREC countries. Mr. Naeem Y. Zamindar, Chairman, BoI while
giving his inaugural remarks stated that through CPEC investment in Pakistan,
China has given us a major opportunity and now we need to capitalize on this to
build Pakistan into a growing and equitable economy. Dr. Yang Xiaohong, Country
Director of Asian Development Bank, Pakistan Resident Mission stated that SEZs
provide the opportunity to locate Pakistan in the global value chains to boost
economic development. This can be attained by producing value added products.
Mr. Guntur Sugiyarto, Principal Economist from Asian Development Bank gave the
rationale and role of SEZs in Economic Development. He stated, “a total 40% of
Pakistan’s GDP is required to convert the left-behind districts into growing economic
regions over the span of next 30 years. SEZs can help Pakistan to make economic
development process more inclusive across the districts and regions’.
Addressing
the session titled Design, Implementation and Management of Effective SEZs, Dr.
Yang Zhenshan, Associate Professor at Institute of Geographical Sciences and
Natural Resource Research stated that for China, SEZs have helped in creating a
90% boost in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). For efficient SEZs, institutional
building is of prime importance. The recipe for efficient SEZs includes
localized strategies, necessary infrastructure efficient land use policies and
strategic geographic positioning of SEZs. In order to reap maximum benefits,
both medium and long term impacts of SEZs should be taken into account at the
time of designing SEZs. Wrong SEZ strategies can harm the investors that may
lead to lower FDI and can result in the failure of SEZs. Pakistan should
capitalize on its existing cheap labour and land to attract investors. He further
added that there is no perfect model for success, model of the SEZ should be
designed as per the country dynamics and characteristics.
Mr.
Guan Rong, Secretary General, Association of SEZs, Peoples Republic of China
stated that in developing a SEZ, the most important stage is the initial stage
where the country decides where to locate the SEZ. It should be based on market
forces, depending on the availability of resources and facilities necessary to
develop a SEZ e.g. infrastructure, energy and connectivity. Dr. Ziqian Liang,
Deputy Director of CAREC Institute stated that SEZs are not only important for
reaping economic benefits, but also for creating innovation, best practices and
knowledge transfer.
Professor
Tao Yitao, Director China Centre for Special Economic Zone Research, Shenzhen
University, described the Chinese experience in constructing economic
development and enlisted several points that helped in the process including
Chinese leadership’s persistence in opening up China to international markets
and introducing market reforms. Transformation from a communist model into a
mixed model also led to avenues of innovation and creativity that fuelled the
economic development in China. This was mainly led by the Shenzhen SEZ, which
Dr. Yitao explained in detail.
Dr.
Hasri A. Hasan, Senior Director, Strategic Planning and Risk Management,
Northern Corridor Implementation Authority, Malaysia stated Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) are at the heart of economic development. The role of
Northern Corridor Implementation Authority is to plan, promote and facilitate
the implementation of economic corridor initiatives. In order to attract
investment in less developed regions, Malaysia has given prolonged tax holidays
to the investors. With the help of economic zoning, Malaysia has successfully
developed its less developed regions.
Malaysia has also tapped on the potential of regional corridors by
collaborating with Thailand based on a synergistic and complementary model by
leveraging on each other’s economies to promote development. The key factor to
success is supporting development plans with budget allocations in strategic
national planning and ensuring inclusive development by improving skills and
livelihoods of rural people.
The
3 day workshop was taking place from 20-22nd December 2017 at the
Islamabad Marriott Hotel. In the concluding session, the workshop aims to
elucidate the legal and regulatory framework essential for successfully running
SEZs.
Mr. Azher Ali
Choudhry, Secretary, Board of Investment made closing remarks in the concluding
session and expressed firm commitment from BoI to establish state of the art
SEZs through the help of provincial & regional governments for rapid
industrialization in the country. He appreciated the efforts made by the CAREC
institute, ADB & foreign experts for successful conduction of the training.
The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, graced the closing session as Chief Guest
and awarded certificates to all the participants of the training workshop.
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