ISLAMABAD
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday said Pakistan has many things to offer to the potential investors like skilled labor force, rich natural resource base and the foreign investment is protected by different policies of the Government.
He made these remarks during a meeting with delegation of TRG Pakistan Limited led by Zia Chishti. The Minister of State for IT Ms. Anusha Rehman Khan was also present on the occasion.
The Finance Minister welcomed the TRG delegation and remarked that as TRG includes members who had served or are serving in renowned companies around the world "We are delighted to have them in Pakistan and we hope that they will find Pakistan an attractive destination for their future investments". The delegation thanked the Finance Minister for finding time to meet the team though the budget preparations are in the final stages.
The Finance Minister shared with the delegation the recent developments in the economy of Pakistan as the country has moved from unstable to stable to positive on the scales of the international rating agencies. The Minister told the delegation that Pakistan has many things to offer to the potential investors like skilled labour force, rich natural resource base and the foreign investment is protected by different policies of the Government. The high rates of return are also an advantage for the potential investors. We have been vigorously looking into the solving the energy issues of Pakistan and we have made a firm commitment to the nation to uproot terrorism from the country, he remarked.
According to Medium Term Frame Work, Pakistan will achieve 7pc growth rate by 2017-18 and have a determination to bring the Investment to GDP ratio to 22pc in the next three years. Private sector is encouraged to play its part in the development of the country.
The Minister of State for IT Ms. Anusha Rehman Khan also welcomed the delegation and briefly told the delegation the prospects of investing in the IT Industry of Pakistan." Pakistan has seen an IT revolution after the 3G, 4G licence auction in the last year, we have 13 million new mobile phone users and the number is growing each day. We are trying to revamp our IT industry according to the international standards and the world is showing interest in doing business with Pakistan. Recently in Barcelona, certain foreign investors have also showed interest in relocating their businesses to Pakistan. We are expecting $200 million worth of investment in Pakistan very soon. We are here to facilitate if our cooperation is needed by the potential investors.
"If the new investors are thinking of doing business with Pakistan we have still two unsold spectrum licences available and one is for the new entrants, said the Finance Minister.
The present government's focus is now entirely on growth of the economy in the coming years as we have achieved stability of the macro-economic indicators and we are ready to facilitate those who want to be our partners and facilitators in achieving our targets", said the Finance Minister. We also want investment in energy sector and any other industry which is labour intensive or is involved in production and export of materials, added the Minster.
The TRG delegation included members who had served or are serving in companies including Vodafone, CenturyLink, Hutchinson Whampoa and Swire and also included several senior partners from amongst the world's most powerful finance and consulting houses including Mckinsey &  Company, Cerberus Capital, Homewood Capital, Pinebridge Capital, IFC and many others.