ISLAMABAD, April 14: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that strong macroeconomic performance as well as improved debt profile makes Pakistan an attractive destination for institutional investors.

The prime minister observed this in a meeting with Leonardo Giangreco, senior managing director of Bear Stearns Bank of US, who called on him here at the PM House on Friday.

Mr Aziz said that as a result of the reforms introduced by the government during the last seven years macroeconomic situation in the country had improved and we continued to pursue a growth of 6-8 per cent, per capita income had increased and the standard of living of the common man had improved.

He said that the debt profile of Pakistan had been reworked so as to make it sustainable, as a result of which our credit ratings had gone up and institutional investors were taking keen interest in Pakistani international bonds.

Structural reforms taking place in Pakistan are a major factor in improving the overall situation. We are providing consistency and continuity of policies and continuously reforming all facets of governance and economy so as to meet the challenges of globalisation, growth and deregulation in the world and in the region, he said.

We welcome the interest of global investment banks in Pakistan for new bond issues, advisory work and in our equity market, he said. He appreciated the research they periodically publish on Pakistan. As a result of our deregulation policy we welcome all credible investment banks to be active in Pakistan and appreciate the interest of Bear Stearns to look at Pakistan for their corporate finance and debt business, he said.

The premier told the meeting that this year Foreign Direct Investment in Pakistan was expected to be $3bn, highest in the country’s history, because we provide a level-playing field to local and foreign investors.

He said that this investment was coming from North America, Europe, Middle East and Far East and was well diversified both in terms of the origin and the type of industry it was coming into. He also said that Pakistan was one of the few countries in the world to have introduced a fiscal responsibility law which limited the executive’s borrowing power.

The prime minister said the future potential for investment was in real estate and construction, hotels and tourism, engineering industry, IT and telecom and agro business.

He said Pakistan has about 600 international companies working in the country and the corporate profits have increased because of the growth in the economy and the creation of a growing middle class in the country.