ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) on Monday said economic corridor will not only build image and attract foreign investment but also boost national GDP by 2 per cent. The economic crisis in the emerging markets will not transform into a global crisis and slowdown in China will not hurt the corridor project as its GDP growth is at seven percent which is highest in the world, it said.
Pakistan is inching towards political and economic stability which has made it most preferred investment destination of China, said PBIF President and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain.
Speaking to the business community, he said that inefficiency of export managers has destroyed external sector while investors prefer to export raw material or make good that are consumed locally.
This has pushed up local demand in Pakistan equal to 84 percent of the GDP which is a recipe for disaster.  On the other hand, local demand in China is at 34 percent of the GDP, Indonesia 57 percent and India 59 percent, he added.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that poverty in country is less than India and Bangladesh and 40 percent of the population represents middle class which is moving towards cities which will improve demand. Pakistan has suffered from low investment which has transformed it into a country where opportunities are abound in every sector. The investment climate can be improved by providing insurance cover to the new investments.
China is the only country which has provided us civilian nuclear technology and opportunity to become a transit route for it oil and gas which will improve our global standing, he said.