KARACHI: South Korean steel giant Posco has expressed interest in investing significantly in Pakistan this year while other Korean companies in India have also planned to open offices here.
“This is indicative of the fact that Pakistan holds massive potential for foreign investment,” said In-Ki Lee, Consul General of South Korea in Karachi, during a visit to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) head office. Pakistan’s Ambassador to South Korea Shaukat Mukaddam was also present on the occasion.
Lee suggested that FPCCI should send a strong delegation to the Korean Expo in Seoul in May and August, which would provide a great opportunity to introduce Pakistani products to the Korean market.
He expressed interest in the idea of exploring joint ventures in seafood, leather processing and rice and particularly mentioned Korean investment in wind power projects and infrastructure in Pakistan.
Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice-President Tariq Sayeed suggested holding bi-annual meetings of the Pak-Korea Joint Business Council in Pakistan and South Korea to make the council a more active forum.
He stressed the importance of attracting investment in Pakistan in the form of joint ventures and dispelled fears of foreign investors about law and order, saying the situation on the ground was much better than the perception.
Sayeed floated the idea of organising single-country exhibitions and frequent exchange of delegations to develop trade relations further.
Ambassador Shaukat Mukaddam called for expanding trade between the two countries from $1.4 billion to $3 billion over the next three to four years.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2012.
COMMENTS (3)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Last I looked Pakistan didn't have sufficient energy to keep it's own factories running -- Posco planning on running these steel mills with hot air?
This would be a HIGH risk investment given the conditions in PAK. There is no rule of law, no free markets. At any point in the future the PAK government could take over these mills.
The word "MAY" have proved quite painful over the 64 years to the Pakistanis in every field :)