Attracting investment: Pakistan, American business bodies to step up efforts
LCCI, ABF to constitute joint delegation for a visit to US.
The LCCI and ABF will also constitute joint business delegations to the United States to have meetings with their American counterparts. DESIGN: CREATIVE COMMON
LAHORE:
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the American Business Forum (ABF) have decided to join hands to expedite efforts to attract more US investment in Pakistan.
The decision came in a meeting between LCCI President Engineer Sohail Lashari and ABF President Rizwanullah Khan here on Monday.
Senior Vice President Afsar Mehmood, Vice President Mehmood Ahmad and other members of the LCCI executive committee were present.
The LCCI and ABF will also constitute a joint business delegation for a visit to the United States where they will hold meetings with their American counterparts, in an effort to encourage them to invest in Pakistan.
The two bodies will work in unison for preparing and implementing a 10-year economic policy framework, aimed at facilitating foreign direct investment by initiating multi-level dialogue within and outside Pakistan.
ABF President Rizwanullah Khan pointed to complex taxation procedures, multiple taxes, lack of awareness of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and environment issues as the main hurdles to foreign investment.
“The government will have to sit with the LCCI and other leading private sector players to find a solution to these challenges,” said Khan.
Stressing the need for regular contacts between the LCCI and the ABF, Lashari appointed LCCI executive committee member Zafar Mehmood as the main person to interact with the ABF.
Lashari said continuity in policies was the key to progress and prosperity of the country, as repeated changes in policies had been hitting the economy hard for the last many years.
“LCCI is utilising all its resources to promote trade and industry and soon it will start video conferencing to ensure close interaction with leading chambers of commerce in the world,” he said.
He pointed out that the LCCI Mediation Centre, established by the International Finance Corporation, a private arm of the World Bank, was facilitating the business community in the wake of any dispute.
Citing the example of Taiwan, Lashari said the Taiwanese government was providing maximum facilities to its high-tech industry through free provision of land in industrial estates and asked the Pakistan government to adopt a similar approach to get desired results on the economic front.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2013.
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the American Business Forum (ABF) have decided to join hands to expedite efforts to attract more US investment in Pakistan.
The decision came in a meeting between LCCI President Engineer Sohail Lashari and ABF President Rizwanullah Khan here on Monday.
Senior Vice President Afsar Mehmood, Vice President Mehmood Ahmad and other members of the LCCI executive committee were present.
The LCCI and ABF will also constitute a joint business delegation for a visit to the United States where they will hold meetings with their American counterparts, in an effort to encourage them to invest in Pakistan.
The two bodies will work in unison for preparing and implementing a 10-year economic policy framework, aimed at facilitating foreign direct investment by initiating multi-level dialogue within and outside Pakistan.
ABF President Rizwanullah Khan pointed to complex taxation procedures, multiple taxes, lack of awareness of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and environment issues as the main hurdles to foreign investment.
“The government will have to sit with the LCCI and other leading private sector players to find a solution to these challenges,” said Khan.
Stressing the need for regular contacts between the LCCI and the ABF, Lashari appointed LCCI executive committee member Zafar Mehmood as the main person to interact with the ABF.
Lashari said continuity in policies was the key to progress and prosperity of the country, as repeated changes in policies had been hitting the economy hard for the last many years.
“LCCI is utilising all its resources to promote trade and industry and soon it will start video conferencing to ensure close interaction with leading chambers of commerce in the world,” he said.
He pointed out that the LCCI Mediation Centre, established by the International Finance Corporation, a private arm of the World Bank, was facilitating the business community in the wake of any dispute.
Citing the example of Taiwan, Lashari said the Taiwanese government was providing maximum facilities to its high-tech industry through free provision of land in industrial estates and asked the Pakistan government to adopt a similar approach to get desired results on the economic front.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2013.