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ISLAMABAD – Since the beginning of the massive China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) construction project, there has been occasional criticism,including some complaints that projects under the CPEC are only availablefor Chinese companies.
But business leaders from multinationals and local Pakistani firms inKarachi paint a very different picture.
Representatives say that both multinational companies, from Germany and theUS, and local Pakistani companies have been actively involved in variousCPEC projects and reaped opportunities as the flagship program under theChina-proposed Belt and Road initiative continues.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions that CPEC is only for Chinese companieswhich it is not… Many opportunities are available for non-Chinese companiesas well,” said Abdul Aleem, secretary general of the Overseas InvestorsChamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), which represents over 200companies from outside of Pakistan.
Aleem told reporters at a media briefing with Chinese reporters that manymultinationals are reinvesting in Pakistan because they see a lot ofopportunity for growth thanks to the CPEC, pointing out that members of theOICCI are expected to invest about $2.7 billion dollars in 2018 alone.
Helmut von Struve, managing director of Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering Co,said that Siemens has been working with many Chinese companies, includingsome smaller firms, to support them in understanding the Pakistani market,investing and setting up manufacturing facilities here.
“So, from this angle, we are very positive about the next steps, as moreChinese manufacturing companies are expected to move into Pakistan,” Struvesaid at the same media briefing.
Faisal Akhtar, managing director of BASF Pakistan (Private) Ltd, a Germanchemical firm, also said that his company was now working with many Chinesecompanies in Pakistan, including home appliances maker Haier andinfrastructure firm China Harbor.
“We also see very good opportunity for business with all these new Chinesecompanies, involving making white goods, auto parts or concerninginfrastructure development. So, we see it as a very good opportunity, asyou know, that more and more Chinese investments and companies are cominginto the country,” Akhtar said.
Local Pakistani companies are also at the forefront of major CPEC projects.
Syed Abul Fazal Rizvi, chief operating officer for Sindh Engro CoalCompany, a joint venture between the provincial government of Sindh andPakistani conglomerate Engro Corp, said his company is developing one ofthe country’s largest coal mining projects under CPEC.
Rizvi said that there is hearsay that most of the CPEC projects aremajority owned by Chinese companies and that the Chinese companies aregetting all the revenues. “That is not the case for the [Thar coalproject], where 95 percent of the entire equity in mining is owned byPakistani companies,” he said at the same briefing.
While multinationals are seeing a lot of opportunities under the CPEC,which is a $60 billion program covering energy, infrastructure and portprojects, there are still sectors which need improvement, includinginformation sharing and leveling the playing field.
“There is a lot more interest now about what is happening in the CPEC, butat the same time… mostly the government of Pakistan… they are not sharingtoo much information as to the extent and scope of the projects,” Aleemsaid.
Akhtar also pointed out that in certain areas, such as chemical imports,the playing field is not level for multinationals that are alreadyoperating in Pakistan. “So, to address that, I think some action isneeded,” he said.