S. Anjum Bashir Board of Investment Secretary

Pakistan is looking for Korean investors into electricity generation and manufacturing auto parts, the head of Pakistan’s investment agency said.

S. Anjum Bashir, secretary of Pakistan’s Board of Investment, told The Korea Times that his country is “going through an electricity shortage, and is looking at a quick fix for that.”

Bashir said Pakistan is looking into renewable energy, citing CX Sola, a Korean company which recently agreed to build in a solar energy plant in the country with the Alternative Energy Development Board which is in charge of diversifying energy sources.

Pakistan has long suffered from electricity shortages, and in 2007, the country was struck by its worst power crisis ever. The cause of these is linked to political instability, along with rising demand and a lack of efficiency.

More than 60 percent of the country’s electricity is produced through fossil fuel, followed by hydropower and nuclear power.

The secretary said the Japan-dominated automobile industry also needs a new player that “will produce parts for automobiles and sell them locally.”

Bashir was in Korea for an investment seminar to which representatives from almost 80 Korean companies were invited.

He detailed to investors Pakistan’s favorable investment conditions, such as a high rate of return. Plus, the establishment of Special Economic Zones was signed into law just last week, elevating the hope of attracting foreign investors. The secretary said companies in the Special Economic Zone will be given extensive incentives.

Heo Hoon, the director of the civil works business department at Sambu Construction Industrial, hailed Pakistan as an investment destination. Sambu was involved in a hydropower plant construction project there, and is now preparing for a new project, details of
which it refused to disclose.

Heo said Sambu finds laws related to foreign investors favorable. Asked about security issues, he answered, “the company will find a way to maintain security as long as its business is viable.”

The investment volume from Korea to Pakistan is rising.

According to the Korean Embassy in Islamabad, investment from Korea to Pakistan in 2009 surpassed $30 million.