Business Opportunities in Pakistan

The United States and Pakistan have a strong economic and commercial relationship, conducting two-way trade of approximately $5.3 billion in 2013. The U. S. is Pakistan?s largest trading partner and its leading source of foreign direct investment. For the U. S., Pakistan represents a modest market with suppliers exporting goods and services worth $1.65 billion to Pakistan in 2013. This figure represents a 7% increase over the 2012 figure of $1.53 billion. The U. S was Pakistan?s largest export market in 2013, accounting for almost 15% of total exports. Valued at $3.68 billion, Pakistan?s exports to the U. S. in 2013 were1.6% greater than the previous year. Overall, Pakistan?s economic growth has been sluggish for the past four years, however it accelerated moderately in fiscal year 2012-13, growing by 4.1%. Severe energy shortfalls, domestic security issues, burgeoning public debt, and the slow pace of economic and tax reform implementation are major factors that continue to pose a challenge to the economy of Pakistan. On October 15, 2009, President Obama signed the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 (commonly known as the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill). This act authorizes the United States to provide Pakistan with economic assistance worth $7.5 billion over a five-year period. This assistance, together with other bilateral and multilateral commitments, continues to provide funding for a wide array of soft and hard infrastructure development of potential interest to U. S. firms. Pakistan entered into a three-year, $6.7 billion International Monetary Fund program in September 2013, which will provide an infusion of foreign exchange and framework for structural reforms. With a population of approximately 190 million and an overall GDP exceeding $245 billion, Pakistan is the fifth-largest market in the entire Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions (after India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Egypt). Pakistan has a young population and a growing middle class, with English as the lingua franca of the business community, and a highly evolved services sector that contributes 58% of GDP. Pakistan has a number of attributes that make it an attractive market for multinational firms, particularly those in the fast moving consumer-goods sector. The World Bank?s 2014 Doing Business Report, which surveys the ease of doing business in international markets, ranked Pakistan 110th among the 189 economies surveyed. By comparison, regional competitors Bangladesh and India ranked 130 and 134, respectively. American firms have a fairly strong presence in Pakistan. Currently, there are more than 65 wholly- or majority-owned U. S. subsidiary firms registered with the American Business Council (ABC) of Pakistan and the Lahore-based American Business Forum (ABF). The U. S.-Pakistan Business Council, an affiliate of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce and based in Washington, is another forum for U. S. companies with business and investment interests in Pakistan. There are also hundreds of local firms representing U. S. companies in the market. Some leading U. S. companies doing business in Pakistan include Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, NCR, Teradata, Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories, DuPont, Oracle, Microsoft, Dell, 3M, IBM, Monsanto, McDonald?s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino?s Pizza, and Caterpillar. Pakistan and the United States signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in 2003, which provides a forum for discussion of bilateral trade issues. The most recent annual TIFA council meeting was held in May 2014.