Pakistan seeks UK investment

On a visit to the UK earlier this month, Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani invited British firms to take up the business opportunities in Pakistan, which he described as “the most investor-friendly regime in the region, where the investment offers greater profit margin than anywhere else”.

Mr Gilani made the pitch for investment in Pakistan during his meetings with heads of British industry, business and banking-sector leaders. He said: “Despite negative security perceptions of Pakistan in the media, the trade and investment environment has remained positive, and all business people that have visited Pakistan continue to return due to the opportunities offered by the Pakistani market.”

He added: “Pakistan’s bilateral trade with the UK has grown steadily. In 2010-2011, its value was around £1.8 billion. Pakistan’s exports to the UK grew by a healthy 14% last year, and the UK’s exports to Pakistan grew by a similarly robust 16%. The UK has traditionally been the second-largest investor in Pakistan. Its total foreign direct investment in 2010-2011 was £133 million.

“There are over 600 foreign companies trading profitably in Pakistan — some of them for decades — and over 100 of these companies are UK-based. They know the advantages of doing business in Pakistan: our abundant natural resources, skilled manpower, competitive manufacturing environment, and the huge consumer market, to name but a few.