Italy to invest in energy, marble, agri sectors

ISLAMABAD: Italian government Tuesday expressed its interest in investing in Pakistan's various sectors including energy, textile, agriculture and marble. The Ambassador of Italy Vincenzo Prati in a joint news conference with Chairman Board of Investment (BOI) Saleem Mandiwalla here said that despite the hurdles in Pakistan, there were a lot of investment opportunities in various sector of the Pakistani economy. We are aware of the fact that the problem of insecurity has become a major issue in Pakistan but we want to initiate various projects in energy, marble, agriculture and textile sectors in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad,?he said. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the cooperation in different sectors of the economy has already been signed between the two governments as too boost bilateral investment. Law and order situation definitely affected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan but there were several opportunities for enhancing investment, particularly in energy and marble and granite sectors, he said. About the exact amount of foreign direct investment (FDI), the ambassador said that not only one or two Italian companies were ready to come here for investment but also substantial numbers of companies would come along with modern machineries and equipments in Pakistan. Chairman Board of Investment (BOI) Saleem Mandiwalla turned down the report that foreign investors were hesitant to invest in Pakistan due to security situation. He noted that foreign businessmen were still visiting Pakistan to seek investment opportunities. Government will facilitate all the companies that want to invest in Pakistan. He said government was taking appropriate measures for improving law and order. Most of world economies were suffering from war on terror but Pakistan was suffering the most. He said local investors were flying out of the country due to the rumours about fragile economic situation. He assured that economic situation was under control and the local investors shouldn't believe in false statements and forecasts. BOI Chairman said former government invested mainly in banking and services and neglected manufacturing sector. He stressed for increased investment in manufacturing sector. We also support investment in services sector but the present government focus is on increased investment in neglecting sector i.e. manufacturing,?he maintained. The government wanted to promote both local as well as foreign investors in the country. He said foreign investors had some concerns regarding law and order situation but it couldn't be said that they were not investing or winding up their business operations in Pakistan.