Lucky Punjab

The International Seminar on Business Opportunities, organised by the Punjab government on November 6 and 7, presented the perfect opportunity for international and local businessmen and investors to discuss investment opportunities and possible avenues for cooperation in Punjab.
With over 150 MoUs and agreements signed at the conference, the event was successful in laying down the foundation for a reinvigorated relationship between the public and private sectors.
Following the improvement of the security situation in the country, there is a discernible turnaround on the economic front as well. This has been acknowledged by international financial institutions, rating agencies, fund managers and leading business journals and publications. The change in national fortunes and the ‘can-do’ optimism across Pakistan has been the consequence of strategic policy choices by the government. There is a complete consensus across all elements of national power on the need to address fundamental issues in order to place the country on an upward trajectory.
We live in an era that is undergoing massive fluctuations as political and economic tectonic plates in the world shift rapidly. The role of governments is decreasing all over the world and the private sector is emerging as one of the leading engines of growth. This era is shaped by the forces of globalisation. Nowhere is this trend more pronounced than in the world of business as the captains of commerce and industry as well as the CEOs of multinationals make conscious strides to capitalise on the momentum of regional and global integration.
Endeavours for the promotion of trade are powered by the idea of seeking regional and transnational cooperative partnerships founded on the mutuality of interests and a win-win scenario. There is now a greater and more urgent demand to progressively move towards the globalisation of commerce and business markets. The seminar was an attempt to provide opportunities for market globalisation and product diversification. However, in order for businesses to diversify and expand successfully, they need innovative plans based on the study of target markets. This requires a viable emerging market strategy to target business partners and clients in overseas markets.
Punjab is the most populous, industrialised and developed province of Pakistan, with a population of 100 million. Agriculture forms the core of its economy. Punjab’s contribution to large and small-scale sectors remains at 39.2 percent and 70 percent respectively. On the whole, the province’s imprint on the national economy is significant. Moreover, the province has a large middle class with a high purchasing power.
The reason Punjab takes the lead when it comes to attracting FDI in Pakistan is because it has projects ready for investment worth over millions of dollars. Moreover, the province has systems that support transparency and fair competition in business alongside the infrastructural spine that can network all connectivity needs. Most importantly, however, it has the skilled workforce that is required to make a difference in the competitive market.
Investment generally flows into regions where competitive advantage exists in production and the delivery of services. Punjab is extremely advantageous because it has a burgeoning young population, a growing consumer market of 100 million people and sophisticated business acumen. The government is bound by law to protect foreign and local investments with a guaranteed and reasonable rate of return coupled with high liquidity and no restrictions on the movement of capital.
The Punjab Growth Strategy of 2018 aims to make the province ‘secure, economically vibrant, industrialised, knowledge-based, prosperous and competitive’. This strategy aims to help the provincial economy grow by creating favourable conditions for massive private investment. Besides focusing on reform and the development of key sectors in the economy, it offers solutions to challenges such as underutilised manufacturing capacity, energy shortages, exports, unemployment, low productivity and skill shortages.
Energy continues to be critical area for the success of investment ventures. There is no denying that our national growth has suffered tremendously due to the energy crisis, so much so that 2-3 percent of GDP has been lost per year. The government’s plans for economic revival and attracting investment cannot be successful unless we add sufficient amounts of electricity to the national grid to meet the requirements of our growing economy and population.
Considering the importance of the energy sector to the overall health of the national economy, special attention must be paid to the completion of energy projects on time. The government introduced the National Power Policy which addresses all facets of the energy crisis in an institutional manner. There is an urgent need to stick to the policy as efforts to generate enough electricity to meet industrial demands are underway. There is also a need to focus on broadening the energy mix by tapping all our available resources, such as hydel, coal, solar, wind, LNG and biomass. If all things run smoothly, by the time these projects mature, there will be enough electricity available to meet the requirements of the growing economy.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – worth $46 billion – is a flagship project of the ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative of President Xi Jinping. Poised to connect the Gwadar Port in southwestern Pakistan to China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang, the corridor will have a huge network of highways, railways, industrial zones, and pipelines to transport oil and gas.
About $36 billion will be spent on the development of the energy sector. Under the CPEC, the hydel, coal, wind and solar energy projects will add a total of 10400MW to the national grid. A Pakistan-centred road network will facilitate travel between Pakistan’s neighbours on the east and west, while this corridor will enable greater integration between regional economies. The CPEC is a game changer with the potential to transform the socio-economic landscape of Pakistan with enormous investment potential.
Punjab has all the ingredients required to make profitable an investments in different sectors of its economy. There is a liberal investment regime in place; the province is lucky as far as its geographical location is concerned, and it has a huge consumer market. The basic principles of the province’s investment policy include reducing the cost and inconvenience of doing business, and facilitating businesses with the creation of industrial clusters and special economic zones.
Presentations at the seminar rightly stated that Punjab offers the most attractive and secure amounts of profit on investments. By holding this seminar, the government made a strong case for the investment of capital in various sectors and the need for the transfer of expertise and management skills to expedite the process of development.
Email: amanatchpk@gmail.com