Investors will soon start taking notice of tremendous business opportunities in Pakistan: President Opic

Elizabeth Littlefield is the 10th president and chief executive officer of Overseas Private Investment Corporation, USA (Opic) which is a development finance institution of the US Government. During a recent visit to Pakistan, she sat down with Aaj TV for an exclusive interview. The following transcript comprises excerpts from that interview.
AAJ: Please briefly introduce OPIC?
Elizbeth Littlefield: My organisation; the private investment corporation known as Opic is the US Government's development finance institution to help, stimulate, attract and catalyse private sector investment into markets like Pakistan and other countries where we work. We believe that it is the private sector which acts as the engine of growth; it is a powerful source for sustainable economic development.
AAJ: What is the role of private sector in development? Is it going up or down? What's the clear picture?
Elizabeth Littlefield: When you look at the amount of capital that flows from the US outwards to the emerging markets; 40 years ago 85 percent of the money was in the form of development assistance grants and only about 15 percent was foreign direct investment. Now that has completely flipped so most of the funds of what US is expanding abroad is foreign direct investment.
We have seen in last 30-40 years that most of the G7 countries have created their own development finance institutions charged with working exclusively with the private sector and trying to find ways to bring private capital to address development challenges in partner countries like Pakistan.
AAJ: Tell us about Opic's global portfolio and also about how Opic contributes to US economy.
Elizabeth Littlefield: Our global portfolio is around $17 billion in 105 countries right now. The way we contribute to the American economy is that 50 percent of the revenues and incomes of S&P500 companies come from investments in emerging markets and when companies invest abroad they actually create domain for their product and services which requires jobs back home in the US. So investment of money into Pakistan is beneficial not only for Pakistan's growth and job creation but also for growth and job creation back in the US.
AAJ: Is Opic self-sustaining or is it dependent on American taxpayers?
Elizabeth Littlefield: We operate on a fully commercial and self-sustaining basis. It's actually impressive and a great honour to lead this organisation because we think our mandate was investing and supporting businesses in situations where no bank will take that risk, no development agency would take risk, so we are doing business in situations which are too difficult for others.
We are consistently able to make enough money to break even every year and that's because we charge commercial interest rates and fees on our services so that we can return money because it is important that we too be self-sustaining so we can carry on providing services to businesses.
AAJ: What has been Opic's involvement in Pakistan over the years?
Elizabeth Littlefield: Since the early 1970's we have been in about 123 projects in Pakistan. In the last couple of years we have made significant efforts to increase support for Pakistan. As a consequence US business partnership has tripled in the last three years from $80-90 million to about $300 million.
We now have in the pipeline, projects worth a billion dollars, some of which have materialised. It just shows that a little effort pays off in trying to bring private capital from US into Pakistan.
AAJ: How willing did you find the incoming government of Pakistan in terms of working together to boost investments in the country?
Elizabeth Littlefield: We had very positive meetings with the chief minister as well as Federal Finance Minister Dar, Minister for Water and Power Khwaja Asif, and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as well as the Board of Investment Chairman Mohammad Zubair.
I was very encouraged to hear how focused they all are on creating an environment where businesses are encouraged or protected. They know that some of the things that businesses look for in a country like Pakistan are predictable rules and policies and ability to get licenses and permits, the ability to make sure that we are going to be treated fairly as compared to others. These are kinds of things that investors are looking for and I certainly appreciated Zubair's saying that they want to transform what has been perceived as red tape into a red carpet for investors.
AAJ: How Opic compares regulatory involvement in Pakistan versus rest of the world?
Elizabeth Littlefield: Yesterday I met a range of ministers and I was very pleased to hear their concerns about making the business and investment climate welcoming for international investors so that they can rely on systems that are clear, predictable, comprehensive and consistent.
One of the things that are really welcomed by the international investment community is the fact that this government has really focused on putting the right people in the right jobs. Integrity and due process; these are all things that are incredibly important for investors to hear because they too want those principles applied to their investments. We as a development agency also look for partners to uphold best practices in business.
AAJ: What are some of the key concerns of prospective investors from US?
Elizabeth Littlefield: Governance, energy supply and security are the concerns that investors have, but security is probably the most important. However, violence has affected Pakistan more than Americans so I think that it is the sheer responsibility and concern. I seriously hope that the new government will address these issues as quickly as possible.
The investment opportunities are growing from the grassroots up and we are seeing for example wind corridor that has drawn the attentions of a number of investors who now come to Pakistan and they now have seen that working with Pakistanis is a very positive experience that these opportunities can be realised.
I think track record build track records and opportunities create opportunities and with the messages coming from the new government and the actions I hope soon to follow I have little doubt that investors will soon start taking notice of the tremendous business opportunities in Pakistan.