Chinese companies set for US $ 15 billion investment in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Sept 20 (Gwadar Pro) - Chinese companies have pledged to invest US $ 15 billion in Pakistan’s petrochemical industry, a senior government official said on Sunday afternoon.
“Chinese companies would invest in the petrochemical sector in Gwadar, including the project of energy pipeline from Gwadar to China,” Board of Investment (BOI) secretary Fareena Mazhar revealed in an interview with the Pakistani official media.
Fareena Mazhar elaborated that talks related to the projects were underway, as BOI was working on 50 reforms to create a conducive investment environment and improve the ease of doing business in Pakistan.
Chinese business leaders had met Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad last week and reposed their confidence in Pakistan’s “policy support and security,” months after a blast killed nine Chinese nationals working on a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in northwestern Pakistan.
Iron Brother China has in recent years played a key role in developing the deep-water port on the Arabian Sea. Located in the Balochistan province, Gwadar is at the heart of multi-billion-dollar CPEC infrastructure projects that began in 2013.
In all, about 40 small private Chinese companies are operating in the electronic, textile, construction-related goods and the auto sector, according to the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The second phase of CPEC deals with deepening and broadening the base of economic ties beyond infrastructure and energy between Pakistan and China. It targets economic transformation through big doses of foreign investment, leading to technology transfer, skill up-gradation and trade facilitation. It will generate employment opportunities and harness natural endowments.
Last week, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on CPEC affairs Khalid Mansoor said, “We are in the process of starting one window operation at CPEC Authority to facilitate Chinese investors and help them save their time and efforts in formalities. The one-window operation will soon start in the SEZs,” he maintained.
