SEZs set up under CPEC open to Chinese, third-party investment: official

NINGXIA: The Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are not limited to the Chinese enterprises alone and all the industrial corporation ventures under the CPEC are open to third-country participation, as well.

“We look forward to your high-quality investments in Pakistan, while enhancing B2B and P2P cooperation,” Fareena Mazhar, secretary of the Board of Investment, Pakistan, said in her online address at the Belt and Road Investment Promotion Conference held in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

“Since the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China has been the largest investor in Pakistan with the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows of $8 billion and outsource of $2.1 billion; thereby, contributing 36 per cent to the net investment in Pakistan,” she said.

Taking this opportunity, she introduced the incentives Pakistan provides to the international investors, such as one-time Customs exemption and a 10-year income tax holiday for both zone developers and enterprises.

The online portals developed by the Board of Investment in collaboration with the China Council for International Investment Promotion are also provided to facilitate SEZ investors, she added.

Facing an estimated global economic expansion by 5.6 per cent in 2021, the strongest post-recession recovery in 80 years, a world of opportunities has opened up, setting the fundamentals of industrial B2B cooperation, the BoI secretary said.

With the theme of “opportunities, future, sustainability”, the forum also witnessed the signing of contracts.

The Ningxia Communications Construction Co Ltd signed a contract amounting $43 million with the Nauman Construction Company of Pakistan for highway construction, including a cross-railway bridge to connect Rhodland to Multan, Punjab.

The construction is expected to start recently and conclude in about two years, the company staff told China Economic Net.

Hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the conference aims at promoting joint construction of the Belt and Road and two-way investment for sustainable development. The conference is part of the fifth China-Arab States Expo inaugurated in Ningxia on Friday.

Qian Keming, vice minister of Commerce of China, Sun Ping, vice president of Export-Import Bank of China, Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, representatives from the China International Contractors Association, China Communications Construction Group, KPMG, and senior guests from Egypt and the UAE also attended the meeting.

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