PBIT CEO plans to restructure body, create new divisions

Newly appointed official says reorganisation necessary to properly pitch projects

LAHORE: The Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) is likely to undergo a restructuring process as the newly appointed CEO aims to focus on long-term strategic initiatives, thereby shuffling and creating new divisions.

“Before we invite local and foreign investors, we need to reorganise PBIT, which includes restructuring of its marketing department, besides establishing new divisions, so we can properly pitch any project to international investors,” said Jahanzeb Burana in an interactive session with the Lahore Economic Journalists Association on Monday.

 

He said there was tough competition at the global level and emerging as well as developed economies had set up investment promotion agencies to run advertisements for their country.



“We too need to highlight the potential of this piece of land where we live and only a competent marketing team can do this,” he added.

Burana believed that for long-term development and growth, strategic initiatives were crucial for the province. These initiatives should be taken without any further delay, he observed. He said conceptualisation of any project was the key to success of private-sector investment and development.

“Once a strong conceptualised project is marketed in the international arena for joint venture, public-private partnership or any other form of investment, it attracts more investors than any half-baked project.”

Burana said Pakistan had now transformed into an emerging market from being a developing country on the world map. According to a report, Pakistan needed $165 billion in investment in infrastructure development by 2020, he said, adding though some of the investment had already been planned under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, more was required.



The PBIT CEO said matchmaking was important to make business-to-business deals with private-sector investments and joint ventures in any country. To ensure this, the role of an investment promotion agency for that country is also vital.

“The deals division of the PBIT should be strong and competent enough to successfully manage the matchmaking of local and foreign investors for a successful joint venture,” said Burana.

Besides this, the division would also work on developing direct liaison among associations, chambers of commerce and private business houses of Punjab with other parts of the world, he added.

Burana, who was appointed a week ago, said Punjab had a huge investment potential and international businessmen were also keen to invest in the country. However, the province lacks reliable database that can identify and market the potential properly. Hence, the PBIT will work to overcome this issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2017.

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