ISLAMABAD, Oct 13: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said with Pakistan’s investment regime, the country was geared to become regional hub for trade and manufacturing.

Talking to J.E. Meredith, group managing director and group chief executive, Hutchison Port Holding Limited, Hong Kong, at the Prime Minister’s House, the prime minister said Pakistan offered a huge market with attractive investment opportunities, particularly in areas of power, energy, railways, IT and telecom, ports and shipping, construction and real estate.

He said the government offered a level-playing field to the investors with reduced cost of doing business, openness of government policies and transparency in transactions.

Mr Aziz said the reform agenda of the government was based on the philosophy of privatisation, deregulation and liberalisation, adding that transparency was the hallmark of all government transactions and the government was encouraging investments on public-private partnership basis.

The prime minister said the size of the economy had doubled during the past seven years. Last year, GDP growth was 6.8 per cent. Per capita income grew by an average rate of 13.9 per cent per annum during the last four years, rising from $582 in 2003 to $847 in 2006.

He said poverty was declining and 15 million people were brought out of poverty net during the last five years.

Mr Aziz said Pakistan was fast becoming a regional hub of IT, telecom and media business, and a large number of companies were shifting their businesses to Islamabad as doing business was more feasible in Pakistan.

The prime minister said as a result of the fast growth and investments being made by the private sector there was a skills gap and the government had initiated many programmes to provide training in necessary skills.

Mr Meredith said Pakistan was their regional focus and they valued the geo-strategic location and investment-friendly policies of Pakistan.—APP