LAHORE: Special Economic Zones under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC-SEZs) were one of the main focuses of Pakistan government to uplift export sector.
Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) Chairman S M Naveed told media here on Sunday that in order to enhance the exports of the country, nine SEZs had been identified under the CPEC where joint ventures from Pakistan, China and other foreign countries would be formed to enhance industrial production.
He mentioned that Pakistan has been facing the issue of trade deficit over the last few decades with the situation getting worse over the last decade due to its reliance on imported goods.
He said that according to State Bank of Pakistan, countr’s exports during the FY2021 stood at US $ 22,536 million whereas its imports were US $ 43,645 million, indicating a sharp trade deficit due to the lack of export-oriented products made by the country.
The SEZA Chairman S.M. Naveed said, “I believe SEZs will play a great role in writing a new chapter of economic development of Pakistan because the government is offering a lot of incentives for the industries to be set up in the zones and a large number of investors are taking interest to invest in them, and more are expected in the future.” He added that Pakistan’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the export sector had been almost zero and CPEC SEZs were one of the main focuses of the Pakistani government to uplift the export sector by attracting the FDI.
S.M. Naveed said, “China is currently outsourcing its industry to some foreign countries, our government also wants Chinese industries specially the textile and leather industry to be relocated to Pakistan, because we have the expertise, infrastructure and experience in this sector, and relocation of Chinese industrial units to our country will give a boom to our textile exports.” He said that foreign investors would tap the potential of CPEC and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to find export markets for their products, besides catering to the local market of 220 million people.
Pakistan is located at a strategic location of the BRI, which not only gives it a chance to connect to the outside world but also attracts foreign investment inside it.
He said that Pakistan had now all the potential to start massive industrialisation and the investors who invested in Pakistan now would be pioneers of many sectors of the industry in the country and might get huge benefits in the future.