Negative perceptions biggest hurdle in investment

Oman says resource-rich Pakistan should market its strength.

LAHORE:

Pakistan is a resource-rich country but it needs to focus on improving its perception in the world which is the biggest impediment in way of foreign direct investment, said Mohamed Said Mohamed Al-Lawati, Ambassador of Oman.

Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday, Al-Lawati said Pakistan government should evolve a well-tailored marketing strategy to market its strengths in various sectors as a number of foreign investors were desirous of putting money here but were unaware of the potential areas.

“Had a little attention been paid to marketing, the investment scenario would have been quite encouraging,” he said.

LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh emphasised the need for expanding trade and business relations between the two countries and saw great potential in a number of sectors, particularly energy production.

“Being close to Gwadar, Oman can hugely benefit from this unique opportunity and explore multiple corridors of cooperation with Central Asia and western China, especially in the fields of energy, trade, transportation and tourism,” he said.

Sheikh suggested that Omani companies, which have a rich experience in oil exploration, could go for joint ventures in this area in Pakistan. On the other hand, Pakistan can provide human resource in education, healthcare, engineering, construction, telecommunications and other areas.

Trade between the two countries has remained inconsistent. Though some improvement was seen in 2009 with trade growing from $393 million to $417 million, in 2010 the volume dropped to $297 million.

From 2008 to 2010, Pakistan’s imports from Oman stood at $101 million, $268 million and $156 million respectively. However, exports fell consistently from $293 million in 2008 to $149 million in 2009 and $141 million in 2010.

LCCI Vice President Saeeda Nazar suggested that trade could be enhanced through creating opportunities for the private sector to regularly interact with each other. Exchange of business delegations and single-country exhibitions on a reciprocal basis could lead to a quantum jump in the trade volume, she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2012.