Why Pakistan is growing as a market, not as a producer |
Pakistan has spent years trying to bring in foreign investment, yet the economic benefits remain limited. Factories are closing, exports are struggling, and the country keeps importing more than it produces. A recent economic study on foreign investment published in Lahore Journal of Economics on 'Impact of efficiency-seeking FDI on economy' reveals that the problem is not the amount of money coming into Pakistan but the kind of investment the country is receiving. The research shows that most foreign companies enter Pakistan simply to sell to its growing consumer market rather than to help the country expand its industrial and export capacity. As a result, Pakistan becomes a bigger marketplace for foreign goods instead of a stronger production hub.
The study explains that foreign companies investing in sectors like banking, telecom, retail networks and communication services do help their own markets grow, but they do not significantly add to Pakistan's ability to produce goods or........