‘Second phase of CPEC to focus on B2B, P2P ties’

Speakers discuss strategies to enhance foreign direct investment from China

Board of Investment (BOI) secretary expressed that considering the unique opportunity for Pakistan to relocate Chinese manufacturing base, BOI has developed a dedicated Pakistan China Business-to-Business (B2B) Investment Portal in collaboration with the China Council for International Investment Promotion (CCIIP) for both Pakistan and Chinese companies, which will enable matchmaking of prospective businesses from both countries interested in investing in Pakistan to enter into joint ventures.

She expressed these views while addressing a consultative webinar on how to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) from China organised by the Project Management Unit (PMU) of BOI here on Wednesday.

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The webinar was attended by representatives from the prime minister’s office, Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC), China and members from the Chinese and Pakistani academia, including the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), China-Pakistan Study Centre, Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, Nankai University, Tianjian, Fudan University, Shanghai, and Peking University, Beijing.

BOI Additional Secretary Khashihur Rehman lauded the active participation of NDRC to facilitate joint industrial cooperation initiatives and the valuable cooperation of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.

He stressed that unlike the first phase of CPEC based on a Government-to-Government (G2G) framework, the second phase now pertains to Business-to-Business (B2B) and people-to-people (P2P) ties. Therefore, key players from both sides must be taken on board to jointly initiate meaningful steps to attract Chinese sunset industries to Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2021.