As many as 450 foreign and local investors have confirmed their participation to the Board of Investment (BoI) for the two-day International Investment Conference scheduled for Monday-Tuesday (October 27-28). Federal government has arranged a two-day International Investment Conference with the objective of highlighting the available opportunities for investment in various sectors of the country''s economy. The conference is being organised by BoI.
Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Dr Miftah Ismail told Business Recorder that around 165 foreign delegates, heads of multinational companies and 200 local businessmen have indicated they will participate in the investment conference. "The board has received overwhelming response from investors - both foreign and local," he added. Around 450 guests would attend the conference who will be briefed about the investment potential particularly in energy sector, he added.
Pakistan has held four international conferences on trade and investment in the past one year. One conference was held in Dubai and the other in the UK. Joint conferences on trade and investment were held in Pakistan with Korean and Bahrain business associations and bodies. "This however is the first conference which will focus on investment," an official of BoI said.
The BoI has reviewed its earlier intent to take investors to Lahore and Karachi after receiving no response from Sindh. "If a conference participant requests to visit Lahore, then BoI will arrange their meeting with Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif", sources maintained.
The venue of the investment conference is at a local hotel adjacent to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sit-in. When asked if there is any possibility that the sit-in may overshadow the outcome of the conference, the chairman responded in the negative. He said, "six months ago, I projected 200 participants to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but now the number has doubled," adding that the ''dharna'' has not had any impact on the trust reposed by foreign investors on our economy.
He said investors from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Australia, Russia and other countries confirmed their participation and guests would start arriving in the capital on Sunday. Replying to another question, he said all the delegations are from private sector as the invitation was sent only to private businesses. The conference will continue for two days with discussions on energy, oil and gas, privatisation, roads and infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, mining and minerals as well as success stories from existing investors in various sectors.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will inaugurate the conference while various federal ministers will brief the participants about enormous opportunities available in the country. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Asif, Minister for Petroleum, Shahid Khaqan Abbassi, Minister for Commerce, Khurram Dastgir, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal and senior officers from public sector and professionals from private sectors would address the gathering to highlight the country''s investment potential. President Mamnoon Hussain will also host a reception in honour of guests.
Sources said the conference is scheduled after business associations of Pakistan showed great concern at the falling trend in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as it fell by 26 percent during the first quarter of current financial year. They called on the government to take urgent measures to improve FDI inflows.
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