Shahbaz says investors have a right to earn a reasonable profit. PHOTO: NNI
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday urged foreign companies to invest in the province with an open heart. He said the investors had the right to earn and transfer to their countries of origin a reasonable profit from their ventures in the province.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day international seminar on Investment Opportunities in the Punjab.
The chief minister said that his government would honour the confidence shown in its leadership by the investors. He assured them that fool-proof security arrangements would be ensured for their projects and the red-tape would not be allowed to stand it their way.
He said investors from across the world had been invited to the seminar to facilitate interaction between them and local investors.
Sharif said the emergence of economic hardship and the menace of terrorism could be traced to the United States-led war against communism in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He said the country cannot proceed with economic development without cracking down on terrorism.
Sharif said in terms of economic performance indicators, Pakistan had surpassed South Korea in the 1960s. He said the latter then used Pakistan’s five-year development planning model to formulate its economic policies. In the 1980s, export earnings of Pakistan and Turkey were at a similar level.
The chief minister hailed the China Pakistan Economic Corridor agreement as a beacon of economic progress for the country. He said following the successful signing of the agreement, the US-based multi-national General Electric had also expressed interest in investing in the country.
Heads of various foreign companies that have invested in the province also spoke on the occasion.
The Huang Group vice-general manager said his company was encouraged to choose the province for investment because of transparency in the affairs of the government.
Albayrak Group of Companies chairman Ahmet Al-Bayrak said his company’s Rs100 million investments were spread over transport, solid waste management and textile sectors. He said he hoped the Sharif brothers would follow in the footsteps of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and help Pakistan emerge as an economic power.
Turkey’s Ambassador to Pakistan Sadiq Babur Girgin said he hoped more Turkish companies would invest in opportunities in the province.
Earlier, the State Bank of Pakistan governor briefed the audience about the economic situation in the country. He said the country’s foreign exchange reserves had increased to $20 billion. He said economic activities had accelerated in the wake of improvement in the security situation.
The session was also attended by the Chinese Counsel General in Lahore and the American Counsel General.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2015.
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