KUWAIT CITY, Jan 16: Pakistan has a very friendly investment climate and there is much potential for Kuwaiti investors to explore, says Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Pakistan’s Finance Minister who arrived in Kuwait Sunday seeking to promote trade and investment relations with Kuwait.

Dr Abdul Hafeez noted that Pakistan and Kuwait have always had close ties. “We have a joint economic commission. The idea of this commission is to explore ways in which our economic relationship can be deepened. The commission is meeting after five years, now.”

The minister billed his meeting with Kuwaiti authorities as “a ministerial and technical level dialogue. We feel Pakistan has a lot of investment opportunities that are available for Kuwaiti investment houses and private sector, particularly in areas like oil and gas sector, infrastructure, where we have a growing population and a lot of unfulfilled demand like electricity, telecommunication, ports and logistic services etc.”
Abdul Hafeez said that an area that is of interest to Gulf countries is corporate farming, which can be more loosely termed food security.

“We have been meeting private sector groups in Kuwait, each having their own interest. There was a group that was interested in exploring opportunities in the financial sector. So the idea is to showcase the investment opportunities that are available in Pakistan.
“Pakistan has trade ties with Kuwait worth $2.4 billion per year. We import 75 percent of our HSD from Kuwait.

“We also wanted to express our gratitude for the support we have received from the Kuwaiti government, particularly the Kuwaiti citizens who contributed for the flood victims. An area the size of the UK was affected, 20 million people were affected.

Damages
“$10 billion worth damages was inflicted on crops and houses and loss of infrastructure. We have our gross domestic product has been affected. We took a hit of 2 percent in our growth. Crops were affected.
When asked how badly the floods affected the economic health of Pakistan, the minister replied that it is a very large country and so not the entire country was affected by flood. “There is a lot of reconstruction work happening after the flood waters have receded. In some cases there may be greater opportunities because of reconstruction. Because of the need to create infrastructure at a faster pace.
To a question on investment flows into Pakistan, Dr Abdul Hafeez said that as investments are coming through different vehicles it is difficult to pin down the exact figures. “One of the instruments that worked very well is a company called Pak-Kuwait. It is a joint venture between the two countries. KIA is also a share holder in that.

“We met with the head of KIA and many private sector groups.” On Monday, the minister will meet his Kuwaiti counterpart.

When asked how religious extremism is affecting Pakistan’s growth including the recent violence in the name of blasphemy laws, Dr Abdul Hafeez said these are perceptions projected by media coverage in some western countries. “There is a level at which actual projects are evaluated. The focus in our dialogues is on projects rather than some of the regional situation along the borders.

“Pakistan is a country that stretches for more than a thousand miles; there is need for bridges, toll roads, security and so on. The foreign investors are making good returns. So the occasional perception in some media about the security situation will not hurt. But if you are in close proximity with the country, then these peripheral issues will not matter.  What matters is the balance sheet.

When asked if Kuwait shares this misplaced perception about Pakistan in the light of difficulty in acquiring visas to Kuwait for Pakistanis, the minister said that it is not like Kuwait and Pakistan don’t know each other. “You have Kuwaiti companies that have been active there for decades. Ultimately their testimony matters more. They understand the investment friendly regime in Pakistan.

“Pakistan is a country where there are no restrictions on foreigners coming into any sector. There are no restrictions on foreigners acquiring as much equity in any sector, or having local partners. There are no restrictions on the quantity of capital that you bring in or take out. No restrictions on dividends or repatriation of capital.

To a question on Pakistan’s position in the midst of big neighbours like China and India, the minister said, “we are living in an age where countries are economically competing and cooperating with each other at the same time. This is the age of “Competition.” So surely there are some areas of competition, yet the picture is largely harmonious.”

Also:
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh today met with the Chairman of Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), Bader Al-Sa’ad.
During the meeting, the two discussed the ways to further enhance and diversify relations specially the investment in Pakistan by companies from Kuwait. The finance minister gave a review about the existing investment environment in Pakistan.
He said that Pakistan had an extremely liberal investment regime and there were no restrictions on foreign investment and the flow of capital.