Chinese firm interested in investing in Pakistan
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with China and the visit by officials of the China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation (CNCEC) will strengthen the ties between the two countries in the field of investment too.
Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Minister of Privatization and Investment, said at a meeting with a delegation of the CNCEC now visiting Pakistan on the special invitation of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
According to an official statement issued on Monday, the minister said the importance of the visit could be gauged from the fact that the prime minister during his visit to Hong Kong in August this year held a meeting with the president of CNCEC and offered various projects for investment to the Chinese company.
The minister briefed the delegation on the investment policy and opportunities available in various sectors to foreign investors. He said Pakistan had achieved remarkable success in putting its economy on the right track. Fiscal reforms, deregulation and privatization, creation of a liberal investment regime and improvement in governance had resulted in improved economic indicators, he added.
The minister praised the interest of the Chinese company in oil and gas, power, coal, pharmaceutical, chemical and engineering sectors and hoped that these sectors would benefit from Chinese expertise. Jin Kening President of the CNCEC, said they had come to Pakistan with the objective of exploring the potential and avenues available in various fields his company specialized in. Emphasizing the strong relations between the two countries, he said it was necessary that the Chinese and Pakistani peoples worked together for bringing the business community of both the countries further closer.
Earlier, Umar Ahmad Ghumman, Minister of State for Privatization and Investment, who is also Chairman of the Board of Investment, briefed the delegation and said Pakistan would welcome Chinese investment in every sector. Mr Ghumman was informed that the CNCEC completed more than 90% of Chinaââ¬â¢s chemical projects, 60% of petrochemical plants and 30% of refineries. The minister of state was also informed that the CNCEC had provided services to several multinational corporations also.
