ISLAMABAD: US entrepreneurs have shown a keen interest to invest in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) – the Allama Iqbal Industrial City – due to its immense market potential and improved governance in the country.
“There is a huge potential in Pakistan’s agriculture, livestock, and food processing & seafood sectors for US companies, and the US businessmen are ready to explore the new investment-friendly business environment offered by the zone,” Pakistan American Business Forum (PBAF) President Riaz Hussain said while talking to Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development & Management Company (FIEDMC) Chairman Mian Kashif Ashfaq on Tuesday.
The Allama Iqbal Industrial City is a prioritised SEZ of FIEDMC.
The major purpose of the meeting was to provide an opportunity to exchange views and identify trade areas where investment can be pumped.
Mian Kashif Ashfaq briefed the delegation on the investment opportunities and incentive packages being offered to the investors.
He said that FIEDMC, following the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, was extending maximum facilities to the foreign and local manufacturers, besides providing all services to businessperson under one roof to ensure ‘ease of doing business’ in the province.
He further said that all industries within the export processing zone would be exempted from tax for a period of 10 years, adding that plants, machinery, raw material and other equipment would be imported duty-free.
Ashfaq said that around Rs400 billion foreign and local investments would be injected into various projects of FIEDMC, which clearly indicates that the investors have reposed complete confidence in the present regime.
“More than 25 Chinese companies had made agreements for investments in the industrial city,” he stated. “The US had titled 2020 as ‘Partners for Prosperity’ year, which can only be materialized once we have an increase in people-to-people contact. Also, cooperation with key organizations in both countries to ensure cohesive and coordinated strategies in promoting US private sector interests in Pakistan must also be ensured.”
