Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and encouragement of investors is the need of the hour for the elimination of poverty and unemployment keeping this in views Pakistan aims to attract foreign investment worth five billion dollars this year, but needs to tackle reform, maximize anemic growth and stem rampant violence to clinch its ambitious target.
What is interesting or rather fortunate to note is that currently Pakistan is bent more towards reaping the favorable side of the FDI inflows. Though increased foreign inflows in the recent months have expanded the reserve money growth, the benefits of these inflows cannot be ignored. Pakistan is one of few countries blessed with lot of untapped coal, wind, hydro and solar energy potential and many countries are keen to help Pakistan fully exploit these resources.
Pakistan is an important and strategic country in South Asia and its growth and development has far reaching implications for the Asian region in general and the South Asian region in particular. Foreign business and industrial houses have confirmed their plans to continue to invest in Pakistan despite certain difficulties. These difficulties relate to an uncertain law and order situation on the back of terrorist activities in the country’s western region. But, seventy-four per cent of the foreign investors already operating in Pakistan are interested in going ahead with new investments over the next two years and beyond.
Pakistan though facing several challenges offers vast opportunities of investment. In Pakistan foreign investors are permitted to hold 100% of the equity in industrial, agriculture, horticulture, livestock, service, infrastructure and social sectors (subject to certain conditions) on repatriable basis. Moreover, no government sanction is required for setting up an industry in terms of field of activity, location and size except in case of four sectors relating to national security.
Under the deregulation policy, government controls on...