ISLAMABAD – Heads of different Chinese companies on Friday gave assuranceto Prime Minister Imran Khan to invest five billion dollars (US $5 billion)in Pakistan in next three to five years.
The investment and transfer of industrial set-up by Chinese companies willgenerate over 50,000 jobs in Pakistan the first year, the PM Office said,as a delegation comprising heads and representatives of 55 Chinesecompanies met the prime minister.
The Chinese corporate leaders with their businesses in multiple areasincluding small and medium enterprise showed keen interest to invest inPakistan.
The meeting was the follow-up of Prime Minister Khan’s visit to China inApril where the leadership of two countries agreed to strengthen bilateralrelationship in key areas, particularly trade and investment.
Prime Minister Imran Khan welcomed the interest of Chinese companies,saying Pakistan’s diverse areas had immense potential for foreigninvestment.Inspired by the strategy of Chinese leadership on peace, governance andpoverty alleviation, he said the government was willing to learn from theseexperiences to achieve the goals of national prosperity.
Imran Khan said China always sided with Pakistan in tough times, addingthat people of both countries were tied with a strong bond of friendship.
On China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said the project would provea game changer in exploring the true potential of bilateral trade relations.
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The prime minister said implementation of CPEC-related initiatives was apriority for the government and mentioned setting up a special departmentat the Planning Ministry to oversee smooth running of projects.
He said the government was focusing on the concept of ‘ease of doingbusiness’ to promote foreign investment.
Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing said China would extend full cooperation toPakistan in promoting business activities and establishing strong tradelinks for the country’s economic stability.
Planning Minister Khusro Bakhtiar and Adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul RazakDawood apprised the meeting of the government’s fiscal policies andprogress on CPEC-related projects.
Adviser to PM on Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh, Chairman Board of InvestmentZubair Gilani and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Shabbar Zaidi werepresent.
