ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday that the government had formed Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund to take use of the potential of the mining, agricultural, and information technology sectors. These are the growth-drivers of the future. No matter who is in charge, the government would be primarily focused on mines and minerals as well as IT in the years to come, the minister said in a speech at the Pakistan Minerals Summit themed “Dust to Development: Investment Opportunities in Pakistan.” He claimed that the administration was making significant efforts to assist investors and take advantage of the nation’s resources.
He said the draft legislation for establishing the fund, which was more acceptable globally, had been tabled in the National Assembly and would be moved in the Senate on Wednesday.
Egypt and Indonesia, which were facing a turbulent situation like Pakistan, had established the fund and were doing well, he added.
The finance minister asserted that Pakistan was an asset-solvent country. In the mineral sector only, it had the potential of around $6 trillion and the one thing that needed was the financial management, he added.
He said the goal of government initiatives was to attract investors to exploit the potential of the assets.
He said sub-funds would be created under the main fund which could include agriculture, green revolution, minerals and mining. He said the investors would have the choice whether they were interested in sovereign wealth fund, or any sub-fund for specific sector or even corporate structure special vehicle. No matter in whatever mode of investment they were interested, the government would facilitate the friendly countries and investors.
He said the government had also set up a special investment facilitation committee to help the investors through a one-window facilitation, adding that the World Bank had bettered Pakistan’s ranking in ease of doing business.
Ishaq Dar said he had given the idea of Charter of Economy which could not materialize, however, it was still not late to make it a reality and take Pakistan forward towards development.
The minister said the turbulence time for Pakistan was over and the country was in now the stability phase. The targets achieved in FY2016 would be regained and Pakistan would go back on path to become a member of G20 as it had huge resources and potential.
On inflation, the minister said the core inflation was still 17 percent in rural and 19 percent in urban areas, and according to the economic team’s projection it would dip to 7 percent during next two years, which would consequently help bring the policy rate down.
Meanwhile, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal said all developing countries were inviting potential investors for investment in their different sectors.
He highlighted the importance of stability and policies’ continuity in national development, saying wherever there was stability, the national policies witnessed consistency.
The minister said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project was started in 2013, which in the span of three to four years saw the successful completion of numerous projects worth around $25 billion.
He said the mining and coal extraction work was started in the Thar coalfield with the CPEC investment and China’s technological assistance, which provided jobs to the locals.
The minister said the government had set up a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) which brought together all federal, provincial and district departments concerned under one umbrella, terming it a good step towards attracting investment in the country.
