He was talking to Chairman Board of Directors of Magnitogorsk, Iron and Steel Works V. F. Rashnikov of Russia who called on him on Monday at the PM House. He expressed feelings of sympathy for the earthquake victims and discussed his company's plans to invest in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Aziz said the investment friendly policies of the government have encouraged international companies to invest in many sectors in Pakistan and the level of foreign and domestic investments have substantially improved. He said deregulation, liberalisation and privatisation are the three pillars of reforms.
He said the privatisation programme launched by the government was being implemented successful and satisfactorily. Talking about the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills, the Prime Minister said the steel mill meets only 20 percent of domestic needs.
He said the market was expanding and there was a need and scope for expansion, input substitution and products diversification. This, however, requires more investment, he said. The Prime Minister said government was in the process of finalising the process for privatisation of Steel Mill, which would be done through a transparent process of open bidding.
Rashnikov showed a keen interest to invest in Pakistan and pointed to the economic stability of Pakistan and the investor friendly policies of the government, which he added had restored the confidence of the investors.