19 Chinese companies have been identified, which have shown keen interest in different sectors for investing billions of dollars.
According to sources, top executives of Chinese companies also met Prime Minister Imran Khan during his visit to China in February 2022, wherein they expressed their interest to invest in different sectors under the second phase of CPEC.
The key sectors, which have been identified for Chinese investments under CPEC-II, are the textile, automotive industry, pharmaceutical industry, information technology, footwear industry, agriculture sector, and furniture industry.
The textile sector of Pakistan presents the most attractive opportunities for Chinese investors in the value-added segment particularly ‘apparel and made-ups’ where there is considerable growth potential. The investors will be able to take advantage of the best possible fiscal incentives in the SEZs, skilled and inexpensive labor, easy availability of raw materials, competitive energy tariffs, low freight costs, and preferential access to European markets.
In pharmaceuticals, there is an opportunity to replace the imports from India, Korea, Japan, the EU, and even Chinese counterparts. New avenues for export of Plant, Machinery, and Equipment to Pakistan would be realized, as the local industry will also step in on backward integration, transportation, and logistics strategic advantage for exports to MENA, Central Asia, South Asia, EU, and Africa.
In the auto sector, duty-free import of plant and machinery for setting up the assembly and/or manufacturing facility on a one-time basis, concessional rate of customs duty @ 10 percent on non-localized parts and @ 25 percent on localized parts for a period of five years for the manufacturing of cars and LCVs.
Pakistani authorities have informed the Chinese investors of 19 multi-industry SEZs open for business, with respect to the availability of infrastructure (electricity, gas, water & road accessibility, etc.) for investors who wish to set up units in the next two years.
The sources said out of a total of nine CPEC SEZs, four are at an advanced stage of readiness in addition to Gwadar Free Zone.
