Pakistan expects $100 billion foreign investment in construction and other sectors during the next ten years as its economy is growing on fast track, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Salman Shah said. The construction sector activities in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other parts of Pakistan are growing at a pace, which requires a lot of investment in the sector , Shah told the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). He said the government is also initiating low cost housing projects for overcoming shortage of housing in the country. Foreign investment is rising and workers remittances have also increased due to prudent economic policies of the government, he added. The advisor said that consistency and continuity of economic policies and investment-friendly policies bring pursued by the government during the past six years have restored the confidence of investors. They are now keen to invest in various sectors of the economy. Shah said adding that 150-200 investors will attend the Overseas Pakistanis Investment Conference (OPIC) being held in Islamabad on March 5. The conference will bring more foreign investors and joint ventures in the country. He said that all sectors of the economy, including agriculture, are performing well and expressed the hope that Pakistan s GDP would cross 7 percent during the current financial year. The advisor said that financial sector investors are also taking keen interest in establishing banks and expansion of their network in Pakistan. Citing examples, he said that Standard Chartered Bank has purchased Union Bank and added that this is a long term investment, which would benefit Pakistan in the long run. Tamasec of Singapore investmentcompany is also buying a bank. He said that private sector is participating in the privatization programme of the country and making investments in large industries in the country. Shah said that EMAAR Group and NAKEL group are also investing a huge amount in Pakistan s construction sector. He said one of the best companies in the world has shown interest in the purchase of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) company. There is no shortage of capital for investment in Pakistan, he said and expressed the hope that huge investments would lead to further socio economic prosperity. The advisor said if Pakistan sustains its GDP growth at 7-8 percent, maintains consistency and continuity in the economic policies and invest more on the human capital there is no reason why Pakistan cannot progress like China and East Asian countries. He said that few years back the foreign investment in Pakistan was only $250 million and today it has reached to $6 billion. Shah said it is the firm commitment of the government to reduce inflation as it is affecting the masses specially the poor segment of the society. He said that the government is focusing on pro-poor economic policies adding said that core inflation has reduced to 5.5 percent and food inflation is around 8 percent, and added that the government is also concentrating on the development of agriculture sector in the country.
