Foreigners exploring investment opportunities in Pakistan: Jahangir

LONDON: Prime Minister's Spokesperson on Trade & Investment in the UK & Europe, Sahibzada Jahangir, claimed that multiple foreign investors have been showing "deep interest" in investing in Pakistan because of its "multi-dimensional" potential of the country.

Australian business magnate Andrew Forrest — who has a whopping net worth of $14.8 billion and is the former CEO of Fortescue Metals Group — recently met Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad and expressed the desire to invest approximately $10 billion in Pakistan under the head of the Green Technology projects.

Jahangir, who arranged Forrest's visit to Pakistan, referred to the visit as the "biggest potential investment" in Pakistan by a single company.

"As per Prime Minister Imran Khan's vision for a prosperous Pakistan, I am presenting Pakistan as a suitable investment destination to foreign investors," Jahangir said in an exclusive conversation with The News.

"By the grace of Allah, we have received a lot of interest in Pakistan and we hope that through Prime Minister Imran Khan [with] his visionary leadership and global appeal will change the future of Pakistan."

Jahangir explained that Forrest was interested in developing Pakistan's energy sector and was looking into investing in solar, hydro and wind power sources to provide electricity to Pakistan.

Previously, due to Jahangir's efforts, Vitol — a Dutch energy and commodities company — increased their stake to 40% in Hascol Petroleum Ltd, a petroleum marketing company with over 700 pumps.

On the other hand, Spanish supermarket giant Condis has also initiated its operations successfully in Pakistan.

Jahangir also shared that PM Imran also "ordered" him to host an international summit in the UK to increase investment in Pakistan. He added that the conference was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that PM Imran will visit the UK and promote Pakistan as an investment hub after the coronavirus is eliminated.