ISLAMABAD: Global food and beverage company Nestlé has announced it would invest $60 million in Pakistan and expand its operations in the country, Pakistan’s Finance Division said in a statement on Thursday.
The development took place in Davos at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired a high-level Business Roundtable featuring various chief executive officers and senior leaders of global corporations to discuss Pakistan’s reform trajectory, investment climate and growth potential.
“A major highlight of the discussion was the announcement by Mr. Remy Ejel, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer for Asia, Oceania, and Africa at Nestlé, of an additional investment of USD 60 million in Pakistan,” the Finance Division said.
“Mr. Ejel stated that Nestlé will undertake a robust expansion of its operations in the country, reaffirming its long-term commitment to Pakistan.”
Ejel further announced that Nestlé intends to use Pakistan as a regional manufacturing and export hub, exporting products to 26 countries from here, the statement said.
In August last year, a high-level Nestlé delegation met Aurangzeb and outlined the company’s strategy centered on localization, advanced manufacturing, sustainability and agricultural transformation in the country.
Ejel noted that Pakistan’s demographic profile, growing nutrition needs and “underpenetrated value-added food segments” closely mirror successful growth trajectories seen in Southeast Asia, the Finance Division said.
The Pakistan finance minister welcomed Nestlé’s announcement, describing it as a “strong vote of confidence” in the country’s economic reforms and formalization drive.
“He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to strengthening the tax ecosystem, ensuring policy consistency, and facilitating responsible long-term investment through continued engagement with the private sector, including via the Tax Policy Office established within the Finance Division,” the statement said.
