FDI prospects: British HC warns of 'misconception risk' in relation to some Supreme Court verdicts

British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Adam Thomson, has said that Pakistan should think of 'misconception risk' attached to some of the decisions involving international companies taken by Supreme Court of Pakistan, which is not encouraging for foreign investment. Talking to a select group of media persons at UK High Commission, Thomson explained that SC's verdict in certain cases was not encouraging for international companies.
In this connection he quoted the latest verdict related to Reko Diq gold mine case. "A strong commercial law in a country is very important for British companies, which are engaged in projects abroad. No doubt, a strong judicial system is not only upholding the Pakistan's interests but extremely important to foreign companies too," he added. He further explained that international companies often engaged in international arbitrations if not satisfied with local decisions, which was not a good omen for Pakistan. People in Pakistan should think about this aspect carefully to attract foreign investors, he added. "Verdict in international arbitration may have chilling effects on investment," he elaborated.
The High Commissioner said that British Companies were doing very well in Pakistan, which was reflected from their profits. Simultaneously, they also had challenges to face. Main challenges were regulatory bodies of Pakistan. "Though, business environment in Pakistan is comparatively good to some extent as compared to other South Asian countries, corruption is also a problem as few companies find it difficult to work in certain sectors," he said. Some changes in reorganisation of ministries, regulatory bodies after 18th Constitutional Amendment also created confusion for the UK Companies doing business here, he opined.
Thomson said that to keep UK Companies clean abroad, Government of UK had introduced a very stringent anti-bribery Act, which govern UK companies. He said that the challenges to those British Companies considering to invest in Pakistan was different. "Perception of insecurity in Pakistan is very high among them. Back in UK I tried hard to dispel such kind perception," he said. To a question, he said that Pakistan and UK signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) in 1994. It had been providing protection to companies in both countries. Pakistan was attracting British Companies after promulgation of this agreement, he added.