QUETTA: Balochistan offers very limited investment options to small money holders that could ensure a handsome return with minimum risk. The focus seems to be on real estate after the rates of return on National Saving Schemes and fixed bank deposits have been drastically reduced.

Many investors tried their luck in small-scale businesses, but they suffered losses because of inexperience. They are now in search of other feasible options where they can put in their hard-earned savings for better returns.

The provincial government has established three industrial estates and offered lucrative incentives to attract investment, but it has not take any steps to develop cottage industry in this sparsely populated tribal society, although it could have lured many investors from fixed-income groups.

In the recent past the restructuring and revamping exercise for improving the performance of some public and private sector companies, especially banks, at the behest of the IMF and the World Bank forced thousands of workers to opt for golden handshake schemes or face forced retirement.

Though these workers were offered handsome amounts as retirement benefits, they did not know where to invest the money and earn a reasonable income to keep them going.

"Around 80 per cent of small savers in the range of Rs 0.5 million to Rs 3 million used to invest in different national saving schemes," a senior banker, Tariq Rashid, told Dawn, adding: "They consider these schemes safe and sound."

"Fixed deposit and monthly payment schemes are still popular among retired employees as they provide them enough in terms of profit to meet their expenditure," an employee of the National Savings Centre said.

But the boom in real estate business has triggered withdrawal of money from savings schemes and banks into the property business. Small money holders in the range of Rs 0.5 million to Rs 2 million are now purchasing plots, houses, and shops in commercial centres to double their investment.

"The prices of plots in government and particularly in the cantonment housing schemes have witnessed a 100 to 150 per cent rise during the last one year," a property dealer, Haider Shah, said.

Qamaruddin, a retired banker, said he was withdrawing his savings from the NSS due to the falling rate of return and seriously considering starting some business to earn a handsome profit.

"I don't have any knowledge of business, but I have no option except to invest my savings somewhere else for better returns," he added.

Another retired banker, Kaleem Qureshi, said he had invested in the dairy business but due to lack of experience he could not run it successfully and suffered a loss. "I withdrew the remaining money and invested it in stocks."

He said it was very difficult to decide where to invest the money he had received from his golden handshake from the National Bank.

A former president of the Balochistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Khalifa Tahir, is of the opinion that lack of technical know-how and proper planning as well as absence of government support are among factors preventing investors from turning to industry.

He told Dawn that most small money holders were investing their savings in shares and real estates and did not go for the cheaper loans being offered by financial institutions for setting up industries. "The government fails to attract small investors and falling interest rates have had a bad impact on National Savings Schemes, thus hurting the overall national savings situation."

He said cottage industry could be the best option for small investors, but unfortunately the provincial government had not paid any attention to this sector.

Foreign currencies are also attracting the attention of small savers. "The value of my savings is going down with the passage of time while foreign currencies mostly go up," said Jamil Bukhari, a small businessman who is running a shoe shop.

Some leading jewellers in Quetta are offering private investment opportunities on the basis of fixed monthly income and a score of people are benefiting from this scheme. However, the memory of the private financing schemes' scam of the mid-80s and the 1990s is still fresh in many people's minds.

The livestock sector too has great potential for investment. But there is a need on the government's level to guide small savers about the opportunities offered by this sector and provide proper guidance.