While the Kerry Lugar Bill imposes strict restrictions on what can and cannot be done, US-Pakistan ROZ (Reconstruction Opportunity Zone) languishes in Congress, and the FTA still has not seen the light of day. There are other countries of the world that have assisted Pakistan as as front line state on the war on terror. China, and various Arab countries are doing their part. The Koreans see the potential and some of the biggest conglomerates from Korea are in Pakistan exploring the possibilities. Italy has forward in a big by supporting their own business interests by opening a credit line for them. This allows Italian businessmen to bring in huge investment in Pakistan.
Sunday, 18 Oct, 2009 | 02:15 AM PST KARACHI, Oct. 17: Italian government has agreed to provide a credit line equivalent to $10 billion for Italian investors willing to invest in Pakistan.
This was stated by the chairman, Board of Investment (BoI), Saleem H Mandviwalla, at a press conference here on Saturday.
BoI chairman, who accompanied President Asif Ali Zardari during his recent official visit to Italy, said talks with Italian Embassy for materialising this credit line have now been initiated.
He expressed the hope that the fund would be ready in the next six months.
He said that this credit line has been promised by the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, in response to the request of President Asif Ali Zardari during a bilateral meeting in Rome.
Mandviwalla said this request was well received by the Italian premier and Mr Berlusconi also promised that he would bring a large delegation of leading Italian investors to Pakistan.
He hoped that this fund will help boost Italian investment in Pakistan in a big way.
The BoI chairman said that leading Italian companies have shown keen interest in having joint ventures in Pakistan during a meeting with the President of Pakistan.
He pointed out that Pakistan-Italy Chamber would be established in the next two years.
Talking of his meetings with leading South Korean firms, including Daewoo, Hyundai, LOTTE and K Water, he said they are keen to invest in Pakistan.
The chief executive of LOTTE has indicated that his company was willing to invest at least $10 billion in Pakistan by way of acquisitions in the next five years.
They have already purchased Pak PTA and planning to invest another $300 million to acquire food and raw material companies in Pakistan, he added.
Similarly, the BoI chairman said that K Water was willing to construct dams in Pakistan and Korean Electric Power Company was interested in power generation and distribution in Pakistan.
He, however, said that terrorist activities were the cause of concern for the foreign investors.—APP. Italy to provide $10bn credit line
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