'Arab traders keen to invest in Pakistan'
KARACHI (May 05 2005): The Arab investors think Pakistan a conducive place for investment and big business groups like Al Ghurair, Al Futtaim, Talal Bin Waleed and Kanuz al Watan are investing millions of dollars in various sectors. This was stated by Arif Masood Naqvi, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Abraaj Capital Limited of the Cupola Group, Dubai, at a seminar on 'Entrepreneurship At its Best' organised by the Management Association of Pakistan (MAP) on Wednesday.
He said that Pakistan was the biggest beneficiary of the Nine Eleven tragedy and the event had gone a long way in changing the perception of the country, which was considered a bad place for investment. There were not enough bidders available about three years ago for privatisation of the PTCL, which is now considered a biggest privatisation bonanza in the world, he added.
Arif Masood Naqvi invited Pak businessmen to invest in the Middle East, which is a secure place for doing business, saying a large number of Pak companies and professionals in banking and finance companies were working in the Middle East, and they were respected for their financial skill and capabilities.
Responding to a question regarding great Indian influence in the Arab world particularly in the UAE, Arif Masood Naqvi said that a large number of Pakistanis were working on responsible positions.
The only difference between them was that the Indians always think in terms of national spirit, while Pakistanis think in individual way. Whenever an Indian professional loses a job, the Indian association helps him get another job, he added.
He advised Pakistanis to stop comparing them with India, which has billions of mouths to feed, saying: "We should compare ourselves with Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico, which has the same size as of Pakistan.
Arif said that Pakistan lacked a marketing strategy to promote foreign direct investment (FDI), adding: "Many countries have special ambassadors for the job, but our ambassadors had not been specifically trained for the purpose."
He said there was no dearth of talents in Pakistan especially in finance and banking sector and Pak business schools were second to none in the world, adding that Pakistan professionals are known for their best entrepreneurship in the world and banking and investment companies, which had offshore offices, were doing good business.
Earlier, MAP Vice Chairman Iftikhar Shirazi welcomed the guests, and explained the objectives of the seminar. Newly-elected MAP President Suhail Wajahat could not attend the seminar due to some important engagements.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2005