CHINESE investors are showing a lot of interest to pour their money into the establishment of various industrial units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) being set up under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which certainly will help realize our long cherished dream of taking the country towards industrialization and address the longstanding economic woes.
The very interest of Chinese investors can be gauged from the meetings they are holding with top Pakistani authorities.
On Saturday also, a Chinese business delegation met with Prime Minister Imran Khan and informed him that they are ready to start operations in the glass, ceramics and IT sector besides OPPO, a leading tech company is preparing to set up a mobile manufacturing unit and a research and development centre in Pakistan.
This really indicates that the Chinese investors are being facilitated in every possible manner to make their investment in the Specil Economic Zones (SEZs).
The very fact was also admitted by Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong who said that many issues had been resolved and great progress had been achieved since Prime Minister Imran Khan’s previous meeting with the Chinese businessmen on September 13.
Also during the latest meeting, the Prime Minister assured to support Chinese businessmen on a priority basis and directed the authorities concerned to immediately resolve the issues related to road connectivity and provision of utilities being faced by the Chinese investors.
There is no denying that Pakistan is regionally offering competitive incentives in the SEZs including tax exemptions but it is not enough until and unless the bottlenecks of road infrastructure are addressed and they are given the surety of round-the-clock supply of gas and electricity.
Since PM is now personally looking into the matter, we are confident that these problems will also be addressed at the earliest.
This indeed will encourage more investment in the SEZs which are a win win both for Pakistan and China.
The products to be manufactured in these SEZs will really help the Chinese friends to better transport them to other parts of the world through Gwadar deep sea port whilst the establishment of industrial units will help us generate economic activity and provide job opportunities to our youths.
This process of engagement and consultations at different levels between Pakistan and China must continue to fully operationalize all the envisioned SEZs and make them a successful model which will further strengthen the bond of friendship between the two countries.
