Syed Marwan Shah

The diversified sectors of the economy of Pakistan offer a wide range of opportunities to foreign as well as local investors, WealthPK reports. The sectors of logistics, port and shipping, wind and solar energy generation, textile and information technology can prove profitable for investors as well as for Pakistan owing to their huge potential for development and progress. According to an official of the Board of Investment (BoI), a number of investment opportunities exist in various sectors of the national economy. “Investors at home and abroad must take advantage of the opportunities to help in the transfer of technology to the country,” he said.

He told WealthPK that different sectors in Pakistan including food processing, textile, logistics, automobiles, information technology, housing and construction and tourism and hospitality offered appropriate opportunities to investors. “Investment in these sectors will also help in the transfer of modern technology and create job opportunities in the country,” the official said. Earlier, at a ceremony organised for Korean investors, Minister for BOI Chaudhry Salik Hussain said that road infrastructure was damaged badly in Pakistan by the recent floods. He said that the reconstruction of the damaged roads presented special opportunities to Korean investors and companies.

He said that the logistics and port and shipping sectors had also tremendous investment opportunities. He added that wind and solar energy generation sectors were also open for investment to produce renewable energy in the country. About the government’s efforts to ease the business climate and introduce investment-friendly policies, he said that the government was offering all the possible assistance to both domestic and foreign investors. According to WealthPK research, Pakistan has a liberal investment regime and various investor-friendly policies have been introduced by the government of Pakistan. The country has ample opportunities for foreign investors to invest with 100 percent equity or joint ventures in various fields.

The government has taken several initiatives for attracting investment in various sectors. Pakistan is looking forward to attracting more investment from China, especially in the textile and garments, agriculture, information technology and low-cost housing sector. As outlined in the World Bank’s Investment Policy Promotion, productive private sector investment is one of the most significant components of the growth strategies of developing countries.

By attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), a country can gain access to global value chains and facilitate its economic development. A country benefits from FDI in many ways, including increased jobs, increased exports, supply chain spill-over, innovative technologies and creative business practices. Although FDI is recognised for its benefits, it cannot be realised without a conducive policy, and legal and institutional environment.

In a report, the Pakistan Business Council states that the country should seek “high-quality” investments that provided access to export markets, technology and capabilities. It said that Pakistan should promote economic transformation in the sectors targeted for FDI. It added that Pakistan must address generic and long-standing weaknesses in its ease of doing business that were affecting both foreign and domestic investors. “Even well-functioning special economic zones should not be the end goal of investment policy, but an element of a broader industrial strategy,” said the report, available with WealthPK.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk