ISLAMABAD: The southern Pakistani city of Karachi will host Pakistan–China Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Investment Conference on July 16-19, an official of the country’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) said on Thursday.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s efforts for economic stabilization under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, with policymakers increasingly shifting their focus toward reviving industrial activity, attracting investment and increasing exports.
The Pakistan–China investment conference will be focused on application programming interfaces (APIs), vaccines, biologics, medical devices, clinical research, and allied pharma manufacturing, according to Jamil Qureshi, federal secretary for the SIFC and the Board of Investment.
The event is expected to witness strong participation from leading Chinese pharmaceutical, medical instrument manufacturing and health care firms, for which Pakistani officials have prepared a number of largescale bankable investment projects.
“SIFC is not just hosting an event, it is enabling investment transformation,” Qureshi said on X, adding that business-to-business (B2B) matchmaking and structured investor–industry engagements were already underway with regard to the conference.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan and has pledged over $65 billion in investment in road, infrastructure and development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), besides several Chinese private sector manufacturers undertaking joint ventures in the South Asian country.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited Chinese companies to expand investment in Pakistan’s renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors, following his meetings with leading corporate executives in Hangzhou.
Pakistan offers investors attractive incentives, a strategic geographic location connecting South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, and a large consumer market of over 240 million people.
