Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday the investment climate in Pakistan was very conducive, and the local and foreign investors should benefit from the abundant opportunities available. He was talking to a delegation of Asia Brown Boveri (ABB), headed by its President Rejean Appleby, which called on him at the Prime Minister House here. He said the economic reforms and consistency and continuity of policies had transformed Pakistan into a resurgent economy, adding it was a fast growing economy with rapidly expanding middle class and growing purchasing power.

Demand for goods and services had increased manifold as economic activities were picking up in the wake of current upsurge, he added.

The Prime Minister said currently the emphasis was being laid on diversification of economy, particularly on transition from textile to engineering.

Pakistan, he said, had the potential to become a regional hub for manufacturing, adding there was a wide scope for investment in telecom, real estate, services sector, oil and gas infrastructure, power generation and distribution along with manufacturing. The current gross domestic products (GDP) growth rate was nearly 77, which was quite encouraging for the investment, he further said.

Referring to the power sector, the Prime Minister said the demand for power and energy was increasing as economic activities were expanding all over the country.

Shaukat Aziz said the ABB could explore the opportunities of undertaking joint ventures with local partners, adding the foreign investors could also access the local credit and equity, as the financial sector was very robust.

Availability of cheap and hardworking labour and strategic location made Pakistan an ideal choice for the investors, maintained the Prime Minister.

The ABB President lauded the achievements made by the country in the economic field recently, and said that it had the potential to achieve even higher growth rate.

He said his organisation was currently exploring opportunities for expansion in its activities in the country, especially in the power sector.

He informed the Prime Minister that it was already doing about 20 million-dollar business in Pakistan.

The ABB is a leader in power and automation technology in Pakistan. It has made substantial investments in Pakistan through state-of-the-art. Turbo Charger Workshop at Lahore, serving Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the industry, automation technologies services centre at Lahore is serving oil and gas segment and industry, communication technologies service centre at Islamabad, serving Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), Power Technologies Service Centre at Karachi, serving Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC).

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2005