ISLAMABAD, Aug 8: The government has decided to develop close contact with top 300 international investors with a view to luring them to make new investments in Pakistan.

In this regard an “Investors Relations Desk” is being set up at the Debt Coordination Office to keep regular liaison with 250-300 top international investors who would also include reputed commercial banks and investment companies.

“The purpose is to create awareness and update international investors about Pakistan and various new investment opportunities that exist today in our part of the world,” Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, economic adviser to the ministry of finance, told Dawn on Tuesday.

He said he had just returned from London and Dubai where he had met a number of foreign investors, officials of international rating agencies, bankers and bond investors in order to apprise them of the latest Pakistan's economic situation.

Dr Khan said he held detailed meetings with individual investors, including those of Standard and Poor’s, JP Morgan, ABN Amro, Citibank and HSBC. All the details about them, he pointed out, would be kept in the Investors Relations Desk so that they could be provided instant information on any issue. This desk will be functional very shortly for which the staff has also been hired.

This desk, he said, would function in line with the similar desks that existed in many countries, including India and Italy, the purpose of which would be to keep the international investors informed and abreast with day-to-day economic and financial activities of the country.

Responding to a question, he said in case of any unfortunate incident like bomb blast or any natural calamity, foreign investors would be promptly approached and informed about the latest economic situation through the Investors Relations Desk. “The objective is to ensure that there is no negative impact on the economy due to any unfortunate incident,” he said.

Dr Khan also cited the example of recent bomb blasts in Mumbai where the Indian investors desk immediately took into confidence the international investors and told them that there was no danger to the country's key economic indicators.

In reply to another question, the economic adviser said the government would soon be issuing another Eurobond the details of which were currently being finalised.

The new bond, Dr Khan said, would be issued during 2006-07 and that its timing would be decided soon. He said since the launching of bonds had been a great success, the government planned to regularly issue such bonds -- almost during every financial year.

The adviser claimed that Pakistan’s investment climate had greatly improved that was why foreign investors were approaching the government to invest in different fields, especially in oil and gas, infrastructure, communications, information technology, housing and construction sectors.