Malaysia co to invest $250m in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said all-out efforts were being made to facilitate foreign investment in the country.

Speaking to Chairman of a Malaysian business group EDOTCO here, he apprised the group of the measures taken in Pakistan regarding ease of doing business.

Edotco Group of Malaysia, with an existing investment of $100 million in Pakistan, was planning to further increase their investment in the country in tower infrastructure in telecommunication sector besides adding an investment of $250 million during the next five years.

This was informed by Chairman Board of Directors Edotco Group of Malaysia Datuk Azzat Kamaluddin, who along with a delegation, called on Prime Minister Imran Khan here. The delegation included Nik Ramlah Nik Mehmood, Board Member, Suresh Narain Singh Sidhu, CEO and Arif Hussain Country MD.

High Commissioner of Malaysia Ikram Mohammad Ibrahim was also present during the meeting.

Chairman Edotco Group appreciated the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the policies, being pursued by the present government, which had restored the confidence of investors. He said that Edotco Group wanted to become a partner in Digital Pakistan Programme.

The Prime Minister while welcoming the delegation said that all possible facilitation would be provided to the Group in expansion of its business ventures in Pakistan. He highlighted various steps being taken by the present government to improve the Ease of Doing Business and ensuring investor-friendly environment in the country.

Chairman Board of Investment Haroon Sharif and Secretary BOI Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera were also present in the meeting.

China group keen to invest in housing project

Chairman of Board of China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) Zhang Chun and Head of Huan DR Group Huang Daoyuan Friday expressed keen interest in making further investments in the country in Naya Pakistan Housing Programme and in the agriculture sector.

The interest was shown by Mr Zhang Chun and Mr Huang Daoyuan, who called on Prime Minister Imran Khan here.

Zhang Chun, Chairman CMEC, briefed the Prime Minister about various projects that CMEC had undertaken in Pakistan in the past, most notably in the energy sector. He also informed the Prime Minister about the progress of 1263 MW power plant in Jhang which was near completion.

Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday asked the provincial governments to submit recommendations to stabilise and promote country’s agriculture sector by taking advantage of technological cooperation from China and other friendly states.

Chairing a high-level meeting on agriculture and food processing, he asked the provinces to submit their recommendations within a week, a PM Office statement said.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Food Security, provincial ministers for agriculture, federal and provincial secretaries and heads of institutions related to agriculture.

The prime minister said the promotion of agriculture was government’s priority and would assist provincial governments to exploit the agricultural potential of the country.

He also asked the provinces to point out the factors impeding the exports as well as the promotion of agriculture sector of the country.

Meeting with MPs

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that uplifting the living standard of the people, was the manifesto of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government.

In a meeting with the PTI’s Members of the National Assembly, hailing from Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan, the prime minister urged the parliamentarians to carry forward the measures taken for the betterment of the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to reform the education and health sectors in the province, said a PM Office statement.

The meeting was also attended by Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, MNAs Shahid Ahmed, Noreen Farooq Ibrahim, Shandana Gulzar and Yaqoob Sheikh. Special Assistant to PM Naeemul Haq, Spokesman Nadeem Afzal Chan and PTI’s Secretary General Arshad Dad were also present during the meeting.

The parliamentarians apprised the prime minister about the problems of their respective constituencies.

The prime minister, while mentioning the immense potential of tourism in KP, said he believed that promotion of tourism would help improve the provincial as well as the national economy. He assured the parliamentarians that their issues would be resolved on priority. He also directed the provincial government to devise a plan to resolve the issue of clean drinking water in Karak and DI Khan.