DM Monitoring
BEIJING: Pakistan needs to streamline its business environment to overcome certain economic shortfalls in wake of COVID-19 and to achieve future socio-economic targets, particularly in term of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Streamline the regulatory environment for business is also imperative for both Pakistan and China, said Chinese scholar Prof. Zhou Rong in an article published by China Economic Net (CEN) on Sunday.
He note that the Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan was 10% lower than the $133.2 million recorded in April 2020 and 53% lesser than the $254 million registered in May 2019, as Covid-19 forced global investors to put their new investment plans on hold. The global lock-down imposed to contain the virus badly impacted economic activities, businesses, people’s income and their purchasing power. According to Prof. Zhou Rong who is special commentator of CEN and senior Fellow of Chongyang Institute for Financial Study of Renmin University, most of the foreign investment during the Covid-19 pandemic went to the ongoing projects in Pakistan rather than new projects.
The overall 91% growth in FDI got major support from an increase in Chinese investment, mainly in power projects under the frame of CPEC. In the first 11 months of FY20, China was the largest investor with net investment of $855.6 million.
