BEIJING, Jul 07, 2010 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) –
President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday met the leaders of a dozen of China?s corporations specializing in defense, petroleum, banking, industrial and construction sectors to further Islamabad?s quest for attracting Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Pakistan in return for liberal economic incentives and security to Chinese manpower.
The corporate leaders with whom the President met separately in the State Guest House included the chief executive officers and their delegations of the EXIM Bank of China, the Three Gorges Dam Project Corporation, China Northern Railways Corporation, China Northern Industries Corporation (NORINCO), China Petrochemical Corporation (SINOPEC Group) Sinotruk, Tebian electric and Apparatus Stock Co, Sinohydro Corporation and Industrial and Commercial bank of China.
Briefing the journalists, presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that the president informed the corporate leaders that Pakistan had a Free Trade Agreement with China in goods, services which ensured full security to Chinese investment in Pakistan.
He said that low cost and hard working labor together with liberal incentives and access to huge markets of countries in the region, Pakistan offered unique opportunity to Chinese investors to invest in Pakistan.
The President thanked the Chinese corporations already doing business in Pakistan and said that the true potential of business partnership between the entrepreneurs of two countries had yet to be fully realized.
President Zardari said that despite adverse geopolitical situation and global financial crisis Pakistan had maintained steady growth. To sustain this growth Pakistan had embarked on private-public partnership mode of development model which was most suited to investors in infrastructure and energy sectors.
Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying that the government planned to launch a mega housing project in the country to overcome housing shortage particularly for the government employees. For this purpose high rise apartment buildings are planned to be constructed in major cities of the country which will be given to public officials on mortgage basis.
The President invited Chinese builders and construction companies to form consortia with Pakistani firms on the basis of equity partnership.
He said that the state partnership in the project could be in the form of land and some other essential inputs and facilities.
The president said that Pakistan was facing acute power shortage and intended to add tens of thousands of megawatts of power to its national grid in the next 25 years through combined hydro, coal, gas, nuclear and renewable energy sources.
The President apprised the corporations dealing in alternate energy of the enormous potential of solar and wind energy in Pakistan and invited them to join in partnership with Pakistani entrepreneurs.
The President invited the three Gorges Corporation to participate in the construction of planned 12 new small and medium dams being built by WAPDA in the country. He said that a MoU had already been signed with the EXIM Bank of China for financing 700 million dollars for these dams.
A Chinese company Synohydro has already signed agreement for the construction of Darawat and Winder dams. The President said that the government will support and facilitate the Three Gorges Dam Project Company to construct the new dams in Pakistan.
He also asked the EXIM Bank to consider financing projects in Pakistan in other sectors of oil and gas exploration, shipbuilding and industrial sector and also set branches in Pakistan to avail the opportunities in Pakistan?s growing economy.
Talking to the CEO of Sinohydro the President invited the China?s energy and construction giant to assist Pakistan in the alternate energy projects.
Sinohydro has been active in Pakistan for almost quarter of a century and is building major projects including the Gomal Zam project in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah province and awarded contracts for Darawat and Winder dams.
The President invited the Sinotruk (Hongkong) to build trucks in Pakistan the demand for which was rising in the country.
The President also underlined the need for increased cooperation in the defense production sector. President Zardari thanked the CEO of the China Northern Industries Corporation (NORINCO) for its cooperation with the defense forces of Pakistan that had contributed to the establishment and development of defense industry in Pakistan.
NORINCO has supplied wide range of tanks, artillery guns, air defense systems and vehicles to the defense services of Pakistan. The Heavy Industrial Complex Taxila has contracted with NORINCO for provision of Al Khalid Tanks.
Talking to the delegation of China Northern Railways Corporation (CNR) headed by its CEO the President said that Pakistan planned to convert from broad gauge to standard gauge and also to build a number of new lines for access to the Central Asia, West Asia, Chinese and European markets and invited the CNR to form a consortium with the Pakistan Railways for the development of these and other projects on the basis of equity partnership.
He said that Pakistan also wanted to upgrade its engines and rolling stock.
The Pakistani side in the talks with corporate leaders included Minister of Defense Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, Minister Petroleum Syed Naveed Qamar, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, Ambassador Masood Khan, Ambassador at large for China Khalil Ahmad Khan, Secretary General to President Salman Farooqui, Secretary Commerce Zafar Mahmood, Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Nadim ul Haq, Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar, Special Assistant Kamal Majidullah Chairman WAPDA Shakil Durrani, Chairman NHA Chaudhry Altaf Ahmad and General Manager Railways Ishfaq Khattak.
Meanwhile talking to mediapersons, the President of the EXIM Bank Li Rougu said that ?he discussed long term cooperation between the two countries in financial sector? with emphasis on expanding cooperating in banking sector.
The Chairman of China?s Three Gorges Corporation Cao Guagjing after meeting with President Zardari said, ?we are in agreement with government of Pakistan to develop hydro and other means of power generation including wind energy?.
The Director General International Water and Electric Corporation who was also part of the delegation and according to Chinese investors, said that in the coming years, Chinese companies intended to make investment of around 10 billion US dollar in power generation sector.
The Chairman China Poly Technology Zhang Liansheng said that he had informed President Asif Ali Zardari that his company was fully interested in making investment in big way in energy sector.
He said that President had invited a delegation of his company to visit Pakistan and see for themselves the vast potential of investment his country offers.
The Chairman Sino-Hydro Liu Qitao told the media after meeting with President that his company has presence in Pakistan for two decades.
The Sino-Hydro specializes in building the infrastructure for power and irrigation projects.
He pointed out that the Sino-Hydro will carry out a big irrigation project by building Darwat dam.
Later today the President will leave for the Great Peoples Hall for meeting with President Hu Jintao. (PNA/APP)
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Posted on: Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:58:51 EDT
Pakistan is dependent on the assistance from China as mentioned above. Why cant we work independently. We should try to utilize our resources more efficiently. Dependency is not healthy. We know that China has always been a good friend but why our country is just dependent on others? I personally feel that things are changing. With the digital advancement, a lot can be done to improve our systems. Our companies must work on the crucial issues such as electricity, less expensive food etc. Focus must be on less profit and more social responsibility. I would like to quote kesc’s effort to reach its customers through facebook. You can have look a look at the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/KESC-Official/171879877110?ref=search
There are many others that are now working on to improve and playing their role for the development of the country.
The choice is Pajistan’s to make. If Pakistan industrializes with China backing her, there are no limits to where Pakistan can reach. And the only country against Pakistan’s growth is Bharat, which is truly a third world country from its very birth in August 1947.
The Bullock-Cart may be good for the local economy, but it is outdated in the space age. India is barely making a dent in world trade and uses propaganda as a means to fool the West that it is a burgeoning nation. Remember all the shout of JAI HIND is not worth a hill of beans, or even lentils. After all Lentils may give you wind, but not the wind power to turn turbines.
@ Kenneth T. Tellis,
Whoever you are, either you are an illiterate, or you put blinkers on your eyes.
If you had little wisdom you would realize that today India is where China was a couple of decades ago.
You want to see India’s dent in world trade……. wait for a few decades ( history is not about a few years or decades ) …………. if you are alive by then, you will learn a lot by that time ……… !!
@ Neel
For the past fifty of the last sixty years Bharat has had an anemic growth rate derisively called the Hindu growth rate. The current growth rate is run by a few dozen families and the money earned has not trickled down to create any ongoing means of wealth generation.
Bharat exports nothing–except raw materials and a meager $42 billion in Call Center services–this cannot sustain a growth model that is enviable anywhere. US, Bharati and European stores are full of Chinese goods and services. Their internal IT is worth $42 billion.
Bharati cavities in terms of Kashmir, Assam and Naxals along with belligerency with all her neighbors makes it an unreliable partner for the Fortune Fifty companies.
Three generations from now, when we are all dead, Bharat may be able to shed its nasty addictions, then it would be different–right now we see no hope for Bharat to rival anyone.
Twenty years ago China was the factory of the world. Today it is exporting cars and planes. We don’t see that in Bharat which was touted as the 10th largest manufacturer 40 years ago–it produces nothing that the world wants to buy!