“Pakistan is a resource rich nation; look at our human resource, and the range it offers. Being the sixth largest populated country of the world, having 120 million youth and 45 million middle class people the country is all set for new achievements. All it needs is channelising this human resource, giving them opportunities, and helping them identify new avenues. My nation is equipped to take on the challenges it faces by the war on terrorism. I think for the first time in our national life we are moving in the right direction with an independent judiciary and an independent media. This is not a small achievement. I can bet that no media in any part of the world is as eloquent and open as ours. Judiciary has allowed righteousness regain its lost position,” this was said by Mr Rizwanullah Honorary Chairman Punjab Board of Investment and Trade and Country Manager Coke Pakistan and Afghanistan while talking exclusively in an interview to Profit.
PBIT is about Public
Private Partnership
The primary job of PIBT has been to attract investors for Pakistani Market; a tall job given the situation of Pakistan today. Talking about the effort that his team would have to exert to convince investors on coming to Pakistan, Mr Rizwan was completely acquiescent to this view. “Indeed it is not an easy job selling Pakistan abroad; however, the best thing is that, once an investor visits this country he gets carried away by its charm, responsiveness and resilience. Seeing that, gives such a huge satisfaction that suddenly the possibilities to explore more increase tremendously. Foreign Media has been instrumental in bringing Pakistan a bad name. The perception that has been built in the aftermath of 9/11 about Pakistan has done more damage than the actual situation at home.”
To a query about whether Punjab board of Investment and trade has been able to move beyond the threshold of persuasion to actually getting any business, he stated that, “investment to the tune of $2 billion has been secured in a matter of one year. Many projects are at the developmental stage, where feasibility reports are being made. Instead of rushing to a project half baked, we have set four months incubation period for each project to define its goals, objectives, and implementation parameters, while eight months are devoted to the development of feasibility report. The idea is to go a long way. We are looking at having a strong and long partnership, that could withstand the test of time and natural business hitches.” Talking about the modus operandi of PBIT Mr Rizwan said, “Punjab Board of Investment and Trade was created from the womb of Public Private Partnership for infrastructure Act 2010.
The aim of PPP is to meat the requirement of infrastructure investment through a public-private partnership mechanism. It is an interface that connects investors with government to bring about a partnership deal. We have identified key important areas for capitalization initially; Energy, Livestock, Education and Health, Waste Management, Transport and logistics, and Mining. Since I have taken over the job of Honorary Chairman on the insistence of Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharief we have conducted one main investor conference in Dubai, then we moved on to China and now very recently we had been to the United Kingdom to sell business opportunities in Pakistan there. It has been a joy conducting an investor conference in Dubai. The response was so intense that we were actually sold to the idea of doing more for a country that has so far been neglected on the altar of political expeditions.”
Charter of
Economic Policy
Last month we conducted CEO conference in Karachi, where forty to forty five top companies of Pakistan were invited to participate. We wanted to brainstorm the economic opportunities and possibilities of Pakistan to evolve a pragmatic approach over the economic issues inflicting us.
On the concluding day somebody from the audience synthesised our discussion in one phrase that explains not only the way forward but the ultimate solution to all our economic woes. He said that Pakistan needs a “Charter of Economic Policy”, signed by every political party. He went on saying that this charter would formulate policies for five essential sectors; Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Textile and industry. Stakeholders from every genre of business activity starting from the consumer to the manufacturer and the supplier of raw material would participate in the discussion. Once the debate is put through a sieve of collaborated discussion, the resulting policy matter would be signed by all political parties and transformed into a regulatory framework implemented for at least twenty years.
This process he argued would have multiple benefits. One: the investor could make business plans keeping the policy and regulatory framework in mind with a belief that his investment venture would not be marred by any sudden shift in tax regulations or policy shift of any new political setup. Two: the investor abroad would have no fears of volatility and may have a level playing field to apply his expertise across the board. Three: every sector would have a constant growth opportunity since the cohesion of mind and hearts would prevent any abnormality be it political or social to affect their working methodology. After hearing this argument, together we were convinced that, following this path Pakistan would be able to achieve 7 to 8 per cent annual growth rate in a matter of five years time.
About the political will needed to accomplish such a feat, we can only say that if all political parties could gather on 18th amendment then why can’t they stand together on a Charter of Economic Policy?”
Projects Undertaken by PBIT
Talking about the projects undertaken by Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, the honorary chairman started off by explaining the role of the state. “A state is responsible to looking after the welfare of its citizens; provision of legislation, education, health, transportation, law and order, security and food is its primary job.
The rest belongs to private sector. Production is not government’s job. Economy in its true sense is driven by private sector. When a state transcends itself into this other being, that is production, we get the mass that we find ourselves into in the form of PEPCO,KESC, PSM, PIA, PR, Trading Corporation of Pakistan, where so far Rs1 trillion has been lost in a matter of last three years. PBIT is, as I said, an interface between government and Private sector. Since private sector has its own way of interacting and relating to each other, and government has a typical regulatory and dogmatic approach, PBIT provides an atmosphere conducive to the private sector by speaking to them in their own language and mode on behalf of the government.
This makes the job easier for both parties. On the other hand, PBIT had reviewed the staled and outmoded business policies of the government. Pakistan has had a very peculiar habit of letting things roll as they are where change is utterly negated. PBIT has said “NO” to the old system. Only recently we had international lawyers from UK to review our mining policies. They have given their recommendations to suit our policies with international standards.
Potential foreign
investment
So far, we have identified hundred points through which energy could be produced in Punjab. Feasibility on more than half of them is almost done, Expression of Interest for many have been floated while nearly five contracts have been signed as well. We are planning to produce 1 megawatts of electricity from the canals and Barrages, spread across Punjab. This electricity would be enough to facilitate the vicinity around them. Then we have huge corridors of wind at Salt Range, a Chinese firm is almost half way through the feasibility on this project, maybe by April next year we would be in a position to start off with this project. We have already assigned Taunsa barrage project with a Chinese firm, which will produce 120 megawatts of electricity. Then we are working on waste to energy technology with an Australian firm. In housing sector we have invited development plans close to 1 billion dollars.
Talking about livestock, we have so far identified 22 milk farms in Punjab, nearly 8 investors from Middle East, Far East Asia and Europe have so far visited and have evaluated them, while few have moved on to the feasibility stage. The idea is to revamp these farms in four direction; Technology, know-how, training, and processes. Presently, what we are looking at is technology development, unless we are armed with technology, nothing substantial is going to happen. Mian Shahbaz Sharif is given to Sustainable Business Model. In poultry vaccine we have initiated collaboration with two foreign companies to produce vaccine in Pakistan. An MOU is signed with one of these companies, it will be a matter of just few months before this project takes off to production.
Hilal meat industry
Similarly Hilal meat market is the most productive business destination for Pakistan at the moment. It has an annual potential of generating above one billion dollar business. Whereas Pakistan is presently exporting 11 to 12 million dollars of Hilal meat annually. The reason behind this gap is falling short on regulatory requirements that are rudimentary to secure meat orders aboard. We can export meat only if we are certified to do so in term of international quality and standard. We are working on getting our Hilal meat production facilities certified. We have already signed an MOU with Malaysia, under the MOU; Malaysian Hilal meat foundation would transfer its Quality standards to Pakistan. They have asked us to Quarantine our animals. Develop meat packaging plants on international standard. So, unless our meat processing companies are in line with international standard we cannot export meat? Lahore meat company is already done with the new plants as per the certification specification; similarly few other companies have either installed new technology or are in the process of doing so. Once these companies are certified we will start exporting Hilal meat to Malaysia, Middle East, Iran, and Central Asian countries. Only recently on the instruction of the Chief Minister, following all the required international standards, two hundred tonnes of Hilal meat was exported to Malaysia as a market test, could you believe the entire stock got sold and now they are asking us to send more. Once the certification process is accomplished, which would take few years though, we are going to have a multibillion hilal meat industry on our doorstep.”
Profile of Mr Rizwan
Talking about his professional career Mr. Rizwan told us that he has been a professional with a nationalistic spirit. Since he has been sitting on different international forums, he had always advocated Pakistan, one way or the other. It was this spirit that overtook Mian Shahbaz Sahrif to offer him the post of honorary Chairman PBIT. Becoming an honorary chairman PBIT in July 2010, has given him a chance to serve this country once again in a different mode. Working as Country Manager Coke Pakistan and Afghanistan over the last five years, Rizwanullh believes that it is the combination of four attitudinal traits that makes success possible , one: good intention, two: planning, three: hard work and four: prayers. He has applied these four ingredients in his thirteen years of service in Coke and is applying them in PBIT as well. He certainly believes that the balance of payment crises in Pakistan can be managed by reducing import dependence through public private partnership and by widening the tax base, tapping into the talents of the youths to produce and manufacture locally for the ever widening middle class of this country.
Durdana Najam is a freelance financial journalist based in Lahore she can be reached at [email protected]
