KARACHI: The state-possessed investment fund of Qatar is going to invest$ 3 billion in Pakistan, a sanctioned statement from the office of the energy-rich country’s sovereign said on Wednesday.
The Emiri Diwan, the executive office of the emir, released the statement as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held sanctioned addresses with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha following a meeting with the autonomous fund officers a day agone.
The $450bn Qatar Investment Authority blazoned its “aspiration to invest $3bn in colorful marketable and investment sectors in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”, it said.
The investment from the Gulf nation is anticipated to help Pakistan bridge the widening gap between the inrushes and exoduses of bones that are performing in a patient balance- of- payments extremity. The bone deficit has weakened the original currency and caused a drawdown on the central bank-held foreign exchange reserves, which dropped to $7.9 bn at the last count.
Speaking to Dawn, Arif Habib Ltd Head of Research Tahir Abbas said the information about the nature of the pledged investment is sketchy at the moment. “ I suppose $2bn will be in the form of safe deposits with the central bank while$ 1bn will constitute the investment part, ” he said.
before this week, State Bank of Pakistan(SBP) Acting Governor Murtaza Syed told judges in a post-monetary policy briefing that the country would admit $2bn from Qatar in the coming 12 months. Although the Qatari statement didn’t mention if the pledged investment was, in addition, to the $2bn indicated by the SBP’s amusement chief, judges believe the two quantities will probably lap.
transnational news agency Bloomberg reported Qatar is assessing strategic investments in Islamabad and Karachi airfields in addition to stakes in renewable energy, power, and hospitality sectors.
line service Reuters said Doha has shown interest in field operation cooperation and the Roosevelt Hotel in New York’s Manhattan, which is possessed by Pakistan International Airlines(PIA). It quoted officers as saying that Pakistan has offered a 25pc stake in the hostel, which shut down in 2020 because of a coronavirus-related depression in the transnational trip.
Still, Mr. Abbas said any substantial progress in the matter of investments in PIA and its hostel is doubtful given the mounting political challenges the government faces on the domestic front.
“We were awaiting some update on LNG, but there’s been no word on that so far. We get eight loadings from Qatar every month. We’re looking for two to three fresh loadings on the long-term base,” he said.
Qatar is a major supplier of LNG to Pakistan on a long-term contract base. It’s also financing one of the two forthcoming LNG outstations in Karachi.
Topline Securities Associate Director of Research Umair Naseer told Dawn it’ll be futile to anticipate Qatar to give Pakistan fresh LNG loadings on a long-term base.
“Inventories are formerly constrained. Europe is hopeless for energy as downtime is approaching. Indeed if Qatar offered to vend us LNG on a long-term base, it’d make little sense for Pakistan to subscribe up for long-term inventories given the prevailing high prices,” he said.
Meanwhile, a statement from the high minister’s office on Wednesday said Mr. Sharif and Qatar’s emir agreed to increase the bilateral trade, consolidate collaboration in the husbandry and food sectors and boost cooperation in energy, renewable energy, tourism, and hospitality parts. They also agreed to expand cooperation in defense, aeronautics, and maritime sectors.
Recalling Pakistan’s long-term cooperation with Qatar in the LNG sector, the high minister thanked the emir for his support in meeting Pakistan’s energy requirements. The two sides also explored new avenues for mutually salutary cooperation in the energy sector.
Sheikh Tamim comforted Mr. Sharif of Qatar’s commitment to forging stronger profitable cooperation with Pakistan. The premier thanked the emir for Qatar Investment Authority’s readiness to invest$ 3bn in colorful marketable and investment sectors in Pakistan.
Mr. Sharif’s visit to Qatar comes ahead of an International Monetary Fund meeting coming week that’s anticipated to authorize further than $1bn in backing that has been stalled since the morning of the time. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also indicated to give $1bn each in oil painting purchase backing.
The high minister on Tuesday invited the Qatar Investment Authority to invest in Pakistan’s energy and aeronautics sectors. He preliminarily mentioned renewable energy, food security, artificial and structure development, tourism, and hospitality among sectors of interest.
