LAHORE: The UAE Ministry of Economy has shortlisted the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) for an investment facilitation award that will be announced at the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM-2019) scheduled to be held in Dubai on April 8.

A letter sent to PBIT chief executive officer Jahanzeb Burana by the UAE ministry of economy says Pakistan has been shortlisted as one of the top two contestants for the prestigious award from South, East Asia and Oceania region. “It is huge news for us and for Pakistan… we will either be winner or runner-up as the results are to be announced next month,” the PBIT chief said.

The board had submitted the $150 million Foton JW Auto Park project, a joint venture between a Chinese company and Pakistani investor Shah Faisal Afridi, for the award. The park has been created as a regional hub for exporting automotives to the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries.

The PBIT expects the project to export vehicles worth $250 million in next five years, starting from 2020.

This is for the first time an investment promotion agency (IPA) and manufacturing project from Pakistan is going to win this award.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2019