The newly-appointed Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Yasin Anwar said the government had planned to develop fixed income fund and capital market with the assistance of public and private financial institutions within a stipulated period of 18 to 24 months. He was speaking at Multilateral Investment & Trade Conference 2011 held at a hotel here.
He said the government had been striving to turn around the country's economy since 2008 economic recession. According to him, the initiative to develop fixed income fund and capital market will not only enable the authorities to liquidate its circular debt but also provide a launching pad to the potential sectors, especially housing sector, for sustainable growth.
He said the government always welcomed bilateral investment and the present banking setup was one of its examples, adding that 85 percent ownership in the banking sector, which was nationalised in 1990, was now in private hands. Governor SBP further said: "Although the country's economy is on right track, there is lot more to be done in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), agriculture and housing sectors for sustainable development".
According to him, the investors from China and the Middle East are keen to invest in banking sector and one of the leading Chinese banks has already opened its two branches in Pakistan. Moreover, country's reserves are stable and bilateral agreements with three countries and two central banks are in progress.
Earlier, chairman Board of Investment Saleem H. Mandviwalla said the investment climate in Pakistan was presently most liberal than ever before, arguing that business friendly policies together with low cost and hardworking labour plus availability of natural resources in abundance, offered unique incentives to investors and business persons. Pakistan's strategic location is an additional advantage offering manufacturers, great opportunity to export surplus production to market in the region.
He said the BoI continued to keep the interest of both local and foreign investors supreme without any discrimination as over 700 foreign companies confirmed that Pakistan facilitates liberal investment policies. BoI chief said Pakistan offered duty-free facilities to foreign investors and the country had a liberal foreign exchange regime with no limitation of inflow or outflow of funds for remittance of profits, debt service or payment for imported raw materials.
He further said that BOI had introduced "Visa Online" system to expedite the processing for foreigners employed in Pakistan. According to him, this system saves time and helps applicants submit their request on a single click. He said the sectors, which were selected for this multilateral conference, were the driving force behind new economic vision for doing business in Pakistan.
Around 65 delegates from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Switzerland were present on the occasion. In his address, Abdul Kader Jaffer, President, Pakistan-Japan Business Forum expressed his confidence in the productivity and potential of the country, saying that "Pakistan's economy offers vast opportunities for foreign enterprises and investors, to manufacture, import, relocate and re-export a wide range of high-quality products, commodities, services and resources. The pool of qualified human resources, skilled labour force and favourable business environment will encourage investors to do business with Pakistan". Hiroshi OE, ambassador of Japan, K. Kaneko, chairman AOTs, Japan and MD Nestle, I am James Donald also spoke on the occasion.