UK minister assures full support to promote investment
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan’s macro economic policy is deeply impressive together with extra ordinary liberal investment and attractive privatisation opportunities, which need to be exploited and Britain will make efforts to promote investment in Pakistan.
Rt Hon Ian McCartney MP, UK’s Minister of Trade assured Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment Zahid Hamid during a meeting here on Tuesday while heading a high level Britain’s companies delegation.
McCartney further said that in future a number of British business and trade delegations were being scheduled for Pakistan to benefit from the attractive investment opportunities in financial, healthcare, oil & gas, power and other sectors. A delegation of Britain’s business groups led by Lord Mayor of London would visit Pakistan in February 2007, he informed. The members of the delegation while terming Pakistan an important part of international banking network observed that it was growing successfully and offered to assist on upcoming GDRs.
While elucidating the salient features of the privatisation and investment policies, Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment Zahid Hamid briefed the delegation that Pakistan provided level playing field to local and foreign investors for investment in all sectors with attractive incentives allowing 100 % foreign equity and remittance of capital, profits, royalty, technical and franchise fee and zero rated import of raw material for export manufacturing.
He informed the delegation that privatisation proceeds worth US $ 5.3 billion have been realized by privatising 58 transactions during the past seven years (from 1999 to 2006), which was 85 % of the total privatisation conducted since the inception of Privatisation Commission in 1991.
Zahid Hamid said that the economic reforms introduced by the then Finance Minister and now Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz under the guidance ofPresident General Pervez Musharraf have delivered tremendous results as the FDI during last five years has increased 10 times from US $ 322 million to US $ 3.5 billion in this year, which included US $ 1.5 billion Privatisation proceeds and US $ 2 billion green field investment. The increasing trend in FDI was continuing in the first quarter of current financial year, he informed.
The Minister further stated that that there were major opportunities in the Oil & Gas, power, financial, Mining, Tourism and sectors under the Privatisation Program. The GDR of Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) at London Stock Exchange (LSE) would be listed on December 6, while GDRs of United Bank Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited and Kot Adu Power Company were scheduled before June 2007 with proper sequencing. He added that under privatisation program major upcoming transactions were PPL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, JPC, FESCO, PESCO, HEC, PSMC and PMTF. The Minister also briefed the delegation regarding the investment opportunities at Gawadar Port and its Industrial Estate.
The delegation included top executives of banking, health sectors and capital market and senior officials of Trade and Investment department of UK while Mr. Talat Rashid Miyan Secretary Board of Investment and senior officials of BOI and Privatisation Commission were present during the meeting.