The 7th meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on Industrial Cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been scheduled for November 21 in Islamabad. According to the Board of Investment (BOI), Chinese experts from National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China will review a plan of relocation of Chinese industry into Pakistan and industrialization of special economic zones (SEZs) alongside the CPEC.
"Huge Chinese investment is expected in these special economic zones which will be instrumental in attracting FDI from other countries as well," the official of BOI stated. Brighter FDI prospects are expected in FY 2017-18 as economy appears to be expanding and work on certain electricity generation and development projects under CPEC remains on track, while the CPEC is shifting gear from short-term projects to long-term projects ie industrial cooperation under CPEC for which BOI is the lead agency.
China is the leading investment country with $631.7 million in October 2017, 224.6 percent up from the same period in fiscal year 2017-18. The Chinese firms invested the large part of their funds in energy and infrastructure projects under the CPEC. Pakistan received $277.7 million through foreign direct investment (FDI) in the month of October, compared to $115.3 million during the corresponding month of the last fiscal year.
While during the first four months of current fiscal year (July-Oct) FY2017-18, FDI stood at $939.7 million, which accounted for 74.4% above the inflows recorded during the same period a year ago. The net inflow of the FDI from Malaysia stood at $107 million in July-October FY 2017-18 against $9.4 million during the same period last year. French investors accounted for $38 million in the FDI during the period under review.
The power sector received the biggest share of foreign funds, followed by construction, financial services and communications sectors. The inflow of direct investment in the power sector increased by 125.4% to $422.4 million in four months of FY2017-18. The construction sector fetched $177.0 million through FDI compared to $ 31.4 million a year earlier.
Telecommunication sector bounced back compared to the last year. The inflow of FDI in this sector rose to $ 64.9 million compared to an outflow of $38.3 million during the same period last year. The financial business and oil and gas exploration sectors received $76.3 million and $57.9 million respectively during the four months of this fiscal year.
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