Investment environment in Sindh ‘conducive’

Japanese envoy says more companies are willing to enter Pakistan

KARACHI:  

The investment environment in Sindh is turning conducive due to the steps taken by the army and Sindh government to restore law and order in the province, said Japan Consul General in Karachi Toshikazu Isomura.

“I pay tribute to the army and civil administration for this accomplishment,” said the Japanese consul general while speaking at an interactive session organised by the Sindh Investment Department in collaboration with the Pakistan-Japan Business Forum.

He pointed out that Pakistan had a population of over 200 million, which kept growing at a pace of 2% every year.

“This growth number might be a problem from other angles but from a business point of view it creates a huge and attractive market for our companies,” he emphasised. “The growth in population also translates into growing demand for Japanese products.”

As an example, he highlighted that motorcycle demand was growing in the country due to which Japan’s Yamaha returned to Pakistan.

He pointed out that a few more companies had arrived and their production plants were planned to be operational in the next few months, adding that some others were willing to enter the country in the near future.

Japanese consulates and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) were playing their roles in increasing bilateral trade between the two countries, he stressed.

“I am making best efforts and will keep on doing so to improve business relations between the two countries,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah said Japanese companies had goodwill in Pakistan, which could be further strengthened if private sectors of both countries worked together. “Every child in Pakistan knows about Japanese companies,” he said.

Shah stressed that the government of Sindh was interested in public-private partnership (PPP) projects, which offered a good opportunity to Japanese companies.

He was of the view that Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company was the best example of PPP, which was producing 660 megawatts of electricity.

“The Sindh government, in collaboration with the federal government, is setting up many Special Economic Zones (SEZs),” he said. “In addition to these, we have given a free hand to the private sector to set up their own SEZs where the government will help in legal matters, land acquisition and provision of utilities.”

He said Sindh had a long coastal belt which was not fully tapped keeping in view the marine business while Japan had developed a marine economy. “With the help of Japanese companies, Sindh can go far ahead in development,” he said and invited Japanese companies to search for potential opportunities.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2019.

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