Huge investment on the way as PM finalises deals with Chinese firms

[HRK]

Chinese firms being promised protection from terrorists while PPP and PML(n) along with their generally corrupt supporters are the real threat sitting in waiting.

can't comment about PPP (it is very unfortunate for Pakistan specially for Karachi) but PML-N is out forever from the race of government forming, before election it will become visible for all to witness a new PML with different face.

 

[RIP Pak LAW]

Looks like there hasn't been any headway on ML1 project again. Rest of the MoUs looks good though.

 

[FuturePAF]

Looks like there hasn't been any headway on ML1 project again. Rest of the MoUs looks good though.

Hope the government works on a strategy to invite investors on ML1 (outside of CPEC) ;

one option is to get financing for at least part of it, as part of the Reko Diq project; upgrading the tracks from the mine (which is basically near the Taftan (Iranian border) to Quetta (Mainline 4), then using Mainline 3 to Rohri, and then down to Karachi on Mainline 1. The goal should be freight transport more so then people, so we can first make the line profitable.

With the line completed to Rohri, this model can be applied to other mining projects and the line can be financed outside of CPEC and be a business opportunity for other investors, diversifying Pakistan’s trade relations, and building influence for achieve other goals/interests of the nation.

Down the line, when Gwadar picks up, a new line can be built from the mine to Gwadar

 

[chinasun]

Within five years, Gwadar will become a regional logistics hub
https://estateland.com.pk/within-five-years-gwadar-will-become-a-regional-logistics-hub/
In fiscal year 2021, the cargo throughput of the port of Gwadar reached 54700 tons, which is the sum of the past three years.
According to data from a Chinese think tank, Gwadar has a population of 300000 in 2025, an economy of US $600 million, a population of 2 million in 2050, an economy of US $30 billion and a per capita of US $15000.

 

[SaadH]

Hazara ko security dy do ethno fascist sy phr Punjabi pashtoon or sindhi technical labour bsaa lyna .

Hazara ko Syria aur Iraq mein bhi security chahiyay kia jab woh sunnion ko qatl karnay jaatay hain?

 

[jupiter2007]

Unfortunately 9 of our soldiers were killed today, not too long ago. Now, those idiots above who think that Chinese investors will invest in such a dangerous environment are just disillusion and speaking from their rear ends.

There are only few who will benefit from sabotaging CPEC. Chinese are way ahead of the game and already know who is behind these Terrorist attacks.

The problem i see in this forum is that people don’t connect the dots in between International news. What is CPEC has to do about the news about sanctions on Bangladesh? Why international players want to put pressure on Bangladesh to support India, and not China?

 

[The Accountant]

I’m not saying it’s not, but modern mining and modern agriculture is more profitable for the nation and companies. Once workers are in the most high earning professions, they can spend more of their discretionary income on housing, and the government/companies can reinvest in making steel domestically with modern methods to be sold to a domestic market better able to afford more of it.

I also understand with population growing the way it is, people need housing, hence the demand for mortgages and ways to afford housing, but we need to find ways for people to earn more.

U r right my brother however modernizing agriculture and mining is a time taking process. Further both are mutually exclusive. Its not like if government is focusing on construction and its not focusing on agriculture or other areas.

The impact on construction is relatively quick.

On agriculture many research centers are open in collaboration with china.

Thousand of acres are Dedicated to olive plantation which will coverts Pakistan into olive oil exporter in couple of years.

On high end industries government is still waiting for private sector to invest and progress is slow relative to my expectations ... For example revival of steel mill is going at a snail pace ... However, there r lot of on plate of this government and they have still done good despite pandemic and a shitty political and buearecratic environment.

 

[jupiter2007]

Looks like there hasn't been any headway on ML1 project again. Rest of the MoUs looks good though.

I don’t why Pakistan like to make things so complicated. Japan was willing to finance whole Karachi circular railway but our Sindh government was more interested in Kickbacks.

In my humble opinion, ML1 project should have been given to Japanese or South Korean companies.
Joint venture between Pakistan and Japanese companies with 65/35 partnership. 65% financing by them and 35% by Pakistani (Chinese loan). Once project is completed, profit will be split 65/35.

 

[MH.Yang]

If I'm not mistaken, Indian Maoist guerrillas have caused more damage to India than BLA&TTP. If India can attract investment, so can Pakistan.

 

[Maula Jatt]

If I'm not mistaken, Indian Maoist guerrillas have caused more damage to India than BLA&TTP. If India can attract investment, so can Pakistan.

India is a very big country though geographically so even if he one area is impacted other areas won't feel a thing

 

[airmarshal]

Attacks in Baluchistan will increase. There is some jealous, small minded neighbor which is not letting go its petty animosity.

If I'm not mistaken, Indian Maoist guerrillas have caused more damage to India than BLA&TTP. If India can attract investment, so can Pakistan.

Where we have lacked is building a counter narrative. That is why pin pricks of BLA become loud explosions.

 

[FuturePAF]

U r right my brother however modernizing agriculture and mining is a time taking process. Further both are mutually exclusive. Its not like if government is focusing on construction and its not focusing on agriculture or other areas.

The impact on construction is relatively quick.

On agriculture many research centers are open in collaboration with china.

Thousand of acres are Dedicated to olive plantation which will coverts Pakistan into olive oil exporter in couple of years.

On high end industries government is still waiting for private sector to invest and progress is slow relative to my expectations ... For example revival of steel mill is going at a snail pace ... However, there r lot of on plate of this government and they have still done good despite pandemic and a shitty political and buearecratic environment.

I agree, they have done a remarkable job all things considered.

BTW, I like that it shows everyone’s flags now.

 

[Mentee]

Hazara ko Syria aur Iraq mein bhi security chahiyay kia jab woh sunnion ko qatl karnay jaatay hain?

How many of the slain Punjabi and sindhi professors, doctors and other professionals went to Syria?

 

[khansaheeb]

Should India be alarmed by strengthening of China-Pakistan ties?

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said Pakistan’s relations with China will only get stronger in the future

www.rt.com

Should India be alarmed by strengthening of China-Pakistan ties?​

Tom Fowdy
is a British writer and analyst of politics and international relations with a primary focus on East Asia.

FILE PHOTO. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. 2, 2018. © AP Photo / Thomas Peter
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan traveled to Beijing on Friday to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. He also since met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to sign a number of business deals to cement what is called “phase two” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a significant aspect of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
While some countries have become confrontational against China in a number of geopolitical areas, Islamabad is tilting closer to Beijing in a relationship which President Xi described earlier as one between “iron brothers.” Their nexus is fueled by a common antipathy towards India, and despite the vastly different ideologies of both countries.
“Pakistan and China not only see each other as iron brothers, but they also think that China and Pakistan’s relationship is as high as the Himalayas. It’s the people-to-people relationship,” Khan said in an interview with Global Times published on Sunday. He added that the relationship between the two nations will only “get closer and stronger” in the future, thanks to the CPEC.
READ MORE: India boycotts Beijing Olympics over Chinese choice of torchbearer
The growing closeness of China and Pakistan recently prompted the Indian National Congress and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having “brought the two countries together.”
Is Pakistan increasingly an ally of China? Does Khan’s visit mark Islamabad ultimately “taking sides” in what has been dubbed a new Cold War in the same way the media have framed Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing and the subsequent Sino-Russia statement? Both Beijing and Islamabad have found themselves with broadly overlapping strategic, economic and military interests. And Pakistan, in the bigger picture, also finds itself with few other options for transforming its jagged fortunes.
It has been for a long time, to put it mildly, a struggling country. With a GDP per capita of just $1,194 in 2020, Pakistan has wrestled with poverty, a rising population of over 220 million, and political instability exacerbated by ethno-sectarian conflict and terrorism. In addition to domestic troubles, the nation faces a patchy security environment externally, being locked in a longstanding antagonistic relationship with India, and Afghanistan sitting on its western frontier. This has created the dilemma of Pakistan being a poor country, yet one which is also a nuclear-weapon state with one of the largest armies in the world.
However, Pakistan’s geostrategic position has become essential to its northeastern neighbor, China. On a map, Pakistan is aligned on an almost diagonal trajectory connecting with China from the western Himalayas heading downwards into the Indian Ocean, and in close proximity to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. This route allows China to bypass the politically and militarily sensitive routes of the East and South China Seas and the Straits of Malacca, where the US is attempting to navally encircle them. On this geographic premise, China ultimately presented troubled Pakistan with an offer it could not refuse: to become the “spine” of the Belt and Road project through the CPEC, promising to transform its fortunes. While doing this, China has also given Pakistangrowing access to its enormous consumer market.
READ MORE: The trade battleground where China can deliver a serious blow to the US
The CPEC project has pledged to build a plethora of infrastructure in Pakistan to try and turbocharge its development, but also to create a logistical means of safeguarding China’s westward trade. This includes proposed roads, railways, airports and the comprehensive development of energy infrastructure. One of its pinnacle projects is the development of Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea in Balochistan province. However, this has been a struggling project with many questions posed about its success, and even talk of it ultimately being abandoned for Karachi. Yet, both sides insist this is not the case and made recommitments to it at the meeting on Friday. While there has been a persistently negative narrative pushed regarding the CPEC in general, many projects have likewise been finished, including nuclear power plants, a metro in Lahore, and a new national electric grid.
China and Pakistan also share close military cooperation. As Modi’s India has tilted towards the United States, and strategic antagonism with China has grown, Beijing perceives Pakistan as a counterweight for the purpose of containing New Delhi. Both countries collaborate on a joint fighter jet, while China is now supplying and building up Pakistan’s navy with frigates, showing Beijing’s intentions to keep the western Indian Ocean free from Indian domination. The United States, which once saw Pakistan as a strategic partner itself in pursuing the War on Terror, now increasingly sees Islamabad as a Chinese-aligned state in all but name. Last year,the US placed Pakistan military firms linked with China on its “entity list” – as it has done itself to many Chinese firms. Likewise, as it headed to the Olympics, Pakistan also skipped Joe Biden’s “democracy summit.” It has also become one of the most vocal supporters of China’s policies in Xinjiang.
READ MORE: India needs a new playbook on China. Here’s why
Against such a backdrop, it is no wonder that politicians in India have become alarmed by the scale of China-Pakistan collaboration. Islamabad may have many internal problems, but it is still for all intents and purposes a formidable adversary. In aligning more closely with China, its goal is not to pursue a global struggle against the West, and is not looking to confront the US or its allies. Instead, it is intended to directly bolster its own hand in the longstanding regional struggle against India, while also giving itself a shot at attaining rapid economic development. The hard-line nationalist position of Modi and his decisions on Jammu and Kashmir have only made it harder for India to reconcile with Pakistan. This could well be a strategic mistake.
In conclusion, some say Pakistan is becoming too “dependent” on China, but that is ultimately down to the reality that there has been little else going for it. Pakistan is a country dogged with little economic prospects, instability and an insecure periphery. What other options and hope did Pakistan have otherwise? Hence, when the world’s second-largest economy and a growing military superpower comes along and offers the opportunity to receive the most comprehensive investment the country has ever got, as well as military assistance, how could it be turned down? Islamabad hopes the CPEC can be a gamechanger for its own fortunes – it’s a gamble in which it has little to lose.

 

[AsifIjaz]

Amongst all the gloom and doom, over the last 12 to 16 months, there have been a few really good news from Pakistan which will go a long way to stabilize the economy. This announcement from the premier trip to China is really significant in the same line. I believe that the following projects would go a long way to make our economic base more stable
1- Engro chemical setting up a new chemical plant at the PVC facility at port Qasim
2- Ghani gases setting up various chemical and industrial gases plants at Faisalabad and Hattar
3- The Pesticide and chemical investment from China - Joint venture, announced this trip
4- Dairy and cattle investment - joint venture, announced this trip
5- Setting up a low carbon mineral plant at Gawader - announced this trip
6 Lastly, Privatisation of Steel mill - expected this year, as mentioned by Khalid Mansoor in the press conference.

None of the above is related to Textile or to IT. If I wanted I could have included dozens of stuff related to these fields as well. The best part is that some of the projects announced are joint venture which has a high chance of being delivered. In both the cases mentioned above, the local client is the Fauji group. After Century steal the above list is what we need to see more off.

A diversified industrial base is the key and we need to locally produce what we consume e.g. We use billions and billions of Refrigerators and ACs in Pakistan but we do not produce either the compressor or the refrigeration gas. This needs to change. The same way we do not produce steel equipment, from wire, screw to even handles or medical equipment. The reason is that we do not produce any variant of NMS on a large scale which can be used in many industries across Pakistan. These small holes need to be plugged in with a major hole plugged here and there.

Other than point 5 above, none are going to be huge enough or a plant big enough so that it can be relevant to the global market or even the regional one. But the above will go a long way to kickstart the related industries base. Merely Textile, IT and services won't cut it for us.