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Carlyle Group set to invest in Pakistan

By Mateen Kaul

DAVOS: The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms, plans to set up a fund of several billion dollars for investments in Pakistan and the Middle East.

"We are seriously looking at Pakistan because of its strong economic growth and investor-friendly policies," sources quoted David Rubenstein, chief executive officer of the Carlyle Group, as telling Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in a bilateral meeting in Davos, at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. The Carlyle Group will be the first private equity firm to come to Pakistan.

Mr Aziz told Mr Rubsentein that the Pakistan government welcomed the group and would facilitate it, the sources said. He said all of Pakistan's economy was open to investment and the government did not discriminate between local and foreign investors. Speaking at a later meeting with international and Pakistani media on Thursday, Mr Aziz hailed the development as "the best news we have had in a while". He said Pakistan had been trying to bring in private equity firms for a long time.

Mr Aziz said Pakistan had clinched several important deals over the last four weeks, which had brought total foreign direct investment in the country to some $3.5 billion over the first half of fiscal year 2006-07. These included a deal with China Mobile to buy mobile phone company Paktel for $400 million, which was an important strategic development for Pakistan's telecom industry. Two local banks had also been sold to foreign firms for a total of about $700 million. The prime minister said Pakistan's economy was performing strongly, with a high annual growth rate, driven by an expanding middle class.

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