AkzoNobel sees huge potential for investment in Pakistan

Jeremy Rowe, Director of Decorative Paints South East and South Asia, Middle East at AkzoNobel, finds Pakistan an attractive spot for foreign investment, as in his opinion the country will see a robust GDP growth in the next four to five years with added advantages of improved law and order situation and policies conducive to businesses.
"Security issues in Pakistan are similar to any other country in this region, but over the last few years it has visibly improved," said Rowe in an interview with Business Recorder here on Saturday. Rowe was appointed to the Board of AkzoNobel Pakistan Limited in October 2016. He has been with AkzoNobel since 2009, his earlier assignments included Managing Director of Decorative Paints South East Asia and Pacific and South East and South Asia.
He has been frequently visiting Pakistan for the past few years and during his stay here, he faced no problems. He said that he has been in Asia for the past 20 years and in his opinion about Pakistan is not less safe than any other country if you behave sensibly.
"Thus, I do not consider Pakistan any different from other countries with regard to safety and security. I also convey the same message to my fellow colleges abroad,' he said and added that he love the people of Pakistan and the country. Talking about potential in Pakistan, he predicted that in the next four to five years the country's GDP growth will be robust, propelled by ongoing investment activity in different sectors of the economy.
A huge untapped potential in terms of people and economy in itself will be other facts he believed will give boost to the GDP. "No doubts ups and downs come in the history of a country, but we will be focused on next four to five years, which will very positive. For us, it will be very exciting period in the development of Pakistan," he added.
He emphasizes on adding more value to their products for the customers and end consumers, and believes in the power of societal impact programmes. A believer in self-managed leadership, Rowe leads his team on a journey with a motto 'an organization can only grow as fast as its people grow.'
When asked about the challenges his company faces in the country, he said that he look-after 15 countries and every country has its own challenges, but due to their home-grown management team, they know how to work in this environment and overcome the challenges. "Our approach is to look at positive medium and long-term development and we do not focus on short-term issues, which usually get resolved," he added.
Talking about starting on-line stores or e-commerce in Pakistan, he said that no doubt this is a growing technology that is being accepted globally. "It is getting popular among the consumers, especially among the young people, as on internet they can select a color according to their choice by sitting in their lounge and then place an order.
We offer this service in some countries. However, in Pakistan we are still investigating this sector by studying the shopping pattern and requirement of the consumers in this country," he added. Giving a background of his company, he said that they primarily deal in both decorative paints and coatings and in paints they are famously known by the brand name of Dulux.
"Decorative paints are primarily for the domestic sector and coatings are used by industries related to automobile, oil and gas, and powder coating for home appliances. Our both products are sold in Pakistan, but predominately its decorative paints," he added.
He pointed out that the coating business tends to come when industrialization takes place in a country and in his opinion in Pakistan the coating business will rise in near future due to high projection of GDP and rate of industrialization.
He further pointed out that a huge infrastructure projects and accelerating construction activity will also drive this industry. "These economic indicators make us very excited about the potential of the Pakistani market," he added. To a question, he replied that given the growth of the business they are seriously looking at expanding the capacity of the business in the future. "We do have a plan that is looking at a future," he added.