Global businesses free to enter CPEC
Terms of reference and composition of the steering committee indicate that the government now seems serious about CPEC after putting the multibillion-dollar initiative on the back burner. PHOTO: FILE
The scope of industrial cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is all-inclusive and open to third-party participation, underlined Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Muhammad Azfar Ahsan.
Speaking at the CPEC Industrial Cooperation B2B Investment Conference on Tuesday, the chairman invited businessmen from across the globe, particularly from China, to invest in diverse sectors of Pakistan’s economy. “Pakistan has a liberal investment regime,” he remarked.
Ahsan apprised the participants of the various investor-friendly policies introduced by the government including the electric vehicle policy, mobile manufacturing policy, construction sector policy, etc.
He spoke about the “Pak-China B2B Investment Portal”, which had been developed to create opportunities of joint ventures between traders of the two sides.
Talking about the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under CPEC, he pointed out that three out of the nine SEZs were at an advanced stage of development. These included Allama Iqbal Industrial City in Punjab, Rashakai SEZ in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Dhabeji SEZ in Sindh.
He highlighted that attractive fiscal incentives were being offered under SEZs, which included a tax-free period of 10 years and customs duty exemption on the import of capital goods for both the developers and enterprises.
“Pakistan accords top priority to the development of SEZs under CPEC,” he maintained.
On the occasion, Board of Investment Secretary Fareena Mazhar underlined that the government treated both local and foreign investors with equality. “There are ample opportunities for foreign investors to invest with 100% equity or joint ventures in various fields as repatriation of investment and profit has been allowed with legal protection,” she highlighted.
“There is no requirement of minimum investment for business startups,” she pointed out.
Speaking about the Pakistan Regulatory Modernisation Initiative, she apprised the participants that the platform had been established with a mechanism to transform the regulatory landscape across multifaceted tiers of the government.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2021.
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