ISLAMABAD: With an eye on strengthening its economy and to overcome the current account deficit, Pakistan’s government said on Monday that it would invite firms from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman to invest in the prestigious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion dollar project.
Labeled as a “game-changer” for the country, China’s $60 billion investment is expected to develop Pakistan’s infrastructure and overcome energy shortage with the help of new projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
“Both Pakistan and China have mutually decided to include a third party in the CPEC projects. And we will definitely seek investment from our friendly Arab countries in the industrial and energy-related projects,” Hasan Daud, Deputy Project Director CPEC, told Arab News.
He said that the initiative was discussed at length during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to Islamabad. “This is a mutual decision and a framework for it is being worked out,” he said.
At the meeting, both Yi and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi agreed to offer GCC investors the same incentives as would be extended to firms from Pakistan and China. “It is a golden opportunity for our friendly countries especially Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Bahrain to invest in the CPEC projects,” Daud said, adding that they were seeking investment particularly in the “export-led industry to overcome the current account deficit”.
Rebuffing reports of a renegotiation with China on CPEC as “propaganda by detractors”, Daud said the priority was now to work toward developing the social sector, Gwadar port, special economic zones and Pakistan Railways’ main line-1.
Dr. Ashfaque Hassan Khan, member of the government’s Economic Advisory Council, said that a “third-country” was being included to dispel the misconception that “there is no transparency in the CPEC projects.” “Investment from other countries will also help broaden the base of the projects and counter allegations of corruption and fraud in the investment,” Khan told Arab News.
He added that the move would further help share dividends of the BRI and ensure regional peace and development through infrastructure and social sector development. “This is a wise strategy and that’s why both Pakistan and China have agreed to it,” Khan said.
Political analysts, however, were quick to add a caveat.
Reasoning that the move was aimed at countering criticism of the BRI, Professor Tahir Malik — an academic and a political analyst — said that the initiative would help China increase its influence in the region, particularly Pakistan, as Islamabad would not be able to repay the money invested in the country by Beijing.
Malik said that China has been under increasing pressure from the United States and other western countries for its “debt trap diplomacy” in the region and the inclusion of a ‘third-country’ was aimed at increasing its ownership of the CPEC projects. “It will be a big achievement for both Pakistan and China if they succeed in getting a tangible investment in the CPEC-led projects from another country in the given international circumstances,” he told Arab News.
Pakistan to rope in GCC investors for CPEC
Pakistan to rope in GCC investors for CPEC
- Chalks out plan with China to overcome current account deficit
- To offer Arab investors the same incentives as are being extended to Chinese companies
US pump prices surge as Iran war upends global energy supply
- Fuel prices jump over 10 percent as oil prices surge
- Analysts predict further price rises due to market conditions
MARIETTA/NEW YORK : US retail gasoline and diesel prices are soaring as the US-Israel war with Iran constrains oil and fuel exports, which could be a political test for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of midterm elections in November.
Fuel prices jumped more than 10 percent this week as oil rose above $90 a barrel, its highest in years, adding pain at the pump for consumers already strained by inflation.
Trump on Thursday shrugged off higher gasoline prices in an interview with Reuters, saying “if they rise, they rise.”
The president had vowed to lower energy prices and unleash US oil and gas drilling during his second term, but much of his tenure has been marked by volatility and uncertainty amid shifts in policies like tariffs and geopolitical turmoil.
The US is the world’s largest oil producer. It is a major exporter but also imports millions of barrels a day since it is the world’s largest oil consumer.
As of Friday, the national average prices for regular gasoline stood at $3.32 a gallon, up 11 percent from a week ago and the highest since September 2024, according to data from the motorists association AAA. Diesel was at $4.33, up 15 percent from a week ago, surging to the highest since November 2023.
Midwest, south feel the pinch
US motorists in parts of the Midwest and the South, including states that supported Trump, have seen some of the steepest increases in fuel costs since the conflict in Iran started.
In Georgia, a swing state, average retail gasoline prices rose 40.1 cents a gallon over the past week, according to fuel tracking site GasBuddy.
Andrenna McDaniel, a health care insurance worker in South Fulton, Georgia, said she was surprised to see prices skyrocket overnight.
“They jumped up so quickly,” she said on Friday, adding that she does not agree with the war at all.
McDaniel, a Democrat, said that for now she is only driving for the most important things, and feels lucky that she works from home so she does not have to drive as much as other people do. Georgia voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump voter Richard Soule, 69, a US Air Force veteran and a retired firefighter, said a little pain at the pump is worth Trump’s efforts to protect America.
“When President Trump went in there and bombed out their nuclear, and they just thumbed their nose at it, I believe he did the right thing at the right time,” Soule said on Friday as he filled up his Ford F-150 truck in Marietta, Georgia.
Other states, including Indiana and West Virginia have seen prices rise by 44.3 cents and 43.9 cents, respectively.
Prices may rise further
More pain may be on the way, analysts said, as oil prices continue to trend upward. On Friday, US oil futures settled at $90.90 a barrel, up nearly $10 and the biggest single-day rise since April 2020.
“Given current market conditions, the national average price of gasoline could climb toward $3.50 to $3.70 per gallon in the coming days if oil continues rising and supply disruptions persist,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said.
The disruptions in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade conduit, have boosted demand for US oil abroad, which in turn has driven up prices for domestic refiners too.
“The US has weaned itself off of its dependence on Middle Eastern crude, but obviously Asian refineries, and to a lesser extent, European refineries have not,” Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst with OPIS. “That’s what you’re seeing happen in the spot market, because the demand for US exports rise, and so the price rise.”
Seasonal factors could add further pressure. Gasoline prices typically go up in the spring and peak in the summer due to higher gasoline demand and production of summer-blend gasoline, which is more costly to produce. Diesel fuel saw an even more aggressive jump since Iran began retaliating against US and Israeli strikes, significantly disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Global diesel inventories have remained in tight supply due to heavy demand for heating and power generation during a prolonged winter in the US and other parts of the world and a structural tightness of refining capacity. Sticker prices of everything from food to furniture go up when the cost of diesel goes up, as the fuel is mainly used in freight transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, and global shipping, analysts said.
“In a world where buzzword seems to be ‘affordability’, that is certainly not going to help,” Cinquegrana said.
