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Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Nawaz invites foreign investment to PakistanBANGKOK: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday invited foreign investment in the upcoming spectrum auction for next generation mobile services (3G) and establishment of technology parks.
“We invite foreign companies to be our partners in harnessing the rich potential of our country that is open for business and keen on working with international investors,” the prime minister said in his key-note address at the Connect Asia Pacific Summit 2013, which began in Bangkok on Monday morning. Prime Minister Nawaz said the government of Pakistan was committed to accelerated digitisation of the country to enable socio-economic development, creating a knowledge-based economy and promoting economic growth.
He said Pakistan accorded the highest priority to development of information communication technology (ICT) for the provision of quality services, education, employment generation and women empowerment. Nawaz Sharif said the Pakistani telecom infrastructure comprised over 125 million mobile connections, about three million fixed lines, three million WLL subscribers, 19.8 million Internet users, 15.7 million mobile Internet users, and 2.8 million broadband subscribers. He said the government, through Universal Service Fund Company, national ICT R&D Fund Company and Virtual University, had initiated a range of successful programmes to promote ICT opportunities to achieve these goals. He said some of these programmes were models and were being replicated by other countries.
The prime minister said with the population of 180 million, Pakistan was strategically located on the crossroads of south and central Asia and energy-rich Middle East. He said Pakistan offered 100 percent equity ownership, full repatriation of capital and dividends and income tax exemption on IT exports until 2016. He said the ready availability of skilled professionals, a comprehensive ICT infrastructure, coupled with affordable rates for connectivity and the government’s business-friendly investment policies, made Pakistan an exceptional destination for foreign investors in the ICT sector.
Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was proud of its longstanding association with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the work that had been collectively done to promote the mandate of this specialised organisation of the United Nations. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk