Shanghai Conference: CM Sindh secures major Chinese investments

According to Business Recorder, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the second Sindh Investment Conference, held in Shanghai after a gap of 12 years, is expected to bring fresh Chinese investment, jobs and industrial upgrading to the province. He said the 12-year interval was used to ready the province's infrastructure, rules and labour force for foreign capital. Sindh government bodies and Chinese companies have signed 34 memorandums of understanding, along with many agreements between private firms.

Shah said the 34 MoUs are backed by detailed groundwork, which he said should help them move swiftly into operational projects. Priority areas include Thar Coal utilisation, electric vehicle production and charging stations, wind and solar power, modern agriculture and digital transformation. He also cited potential in artificial intelligence, big data processing and data centres, while about 1,500 youths are trained each year under the People's Information Technology Program.

Shah presented Sindh as Pakistan's main trade gateway, citing its ports and a China Desk and Single Window Facility Centre set up to simplify doing business. Special Economic Zone investors would receive a 10-year tax holiday and import duty exemptions, while the Public-Private Partnership unit was described as offering a legal and institutional framework. Shah also proposed wider cooperation with China's Hubei province and invited Pakistani firms to look at investment and training options in China.