'Pakistan to organise investment seminar in Kuala Lumpur on March 31'

Chairman Board of Investment (BOI) Saleem Mandviwalla on Thursday announced that Pakistan in collaboration with Malaysian Industrial Development Authority would hold an investment seminar in Kuala Lumpur- Malaysia on March 31, 2011.
The announcement came at a joint press conference of Saleem Mandviwalla and Dato Ahmad Anwar Bin Adnan, Ambassador of Malaysia here. They said that the seminar was being organised for the businessmen seeking lucrative investment opportunities in power, IT, Education, Construction and Halal food sectors in Pakistan.
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) is providing services to the Malaysian companies pertaining to overseas investment. More than thirty (30) top ranking companies of Pakistan are attending the seminar to interact with their 250 Malaysian counterparts for building business linkages and contacts to facilitate and explore business and investment opportunities in Pakistan. A Business to Business (B2B) interaction with Malaysian investors will hopefully allow the initiation of joint ventures in trade and investment in different sectors.
Malaysian Ambassador informed that Malaysia was the second largest economy of Southeast Asia, next to Singapore with GDP of $193 billion (2009 est.) and per capita income of $13,800 (2009 EST.). Malaysia made outward foreign direct investment of $14 billion in 2008, out of which an investment of $656.4 million was made in Pakistan, which was the second highest foreign investment in Pakistan during the year 2007-08.
"There are 17 Malaysian companies working in Pakistan in the sectors like Housing & Construction, IT, Energy, Agriculture and various other sectors. Due to high cost of manufacturing in Malaysia a number of Malaysian companies are relocating their units abroad. There is a vast potential of Malaysian investment in Pakistan," he added. Pakistan's exports to Malaysia comprise of cotton yarn, fabric, rice, fruits, vegetables, sports goods, carpets, fish and fish preparations, leather and leather products and chemical, etc.
Imports from Malaysia include palm oil, electronic items, timber, chemicals, machinery, animal and vegetable oil, crude rubber, cork and wood, non-ferrous metals, synthetic yarn.
Malaysia-Pakistan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (MPCEPA) was signed in November 2007 and it came into force from 1st January 2008. It encompasses liberalisation in trade in goods and services, investment, as well as bilateral technical co-operation and capacity building. A Joint Feasibility Study to assess the viability of an ASEAN - Pakistan FTA was conducted and submitted to ASEAN Secretariat in 2008-09.