Local businessmen demand level playing field

He said the Punjab government had done remarkable work on promoting economic activity and Austria would examine the potential of setting up small hydroelectric power projects in the province. "Austria has expertise in hydropower and we want to benefit from its technology," the provincial minister said, adding that small dams could be completed in two to three years.

He infrastructure in Punjab's Special Economic Zones (SEZs) had been built cost of billions of rupees and the new federal industrial policy allowed land to be taken on 30 to 50-year lease. He invited Austrian firms to consider agro-based value addition, seed development, dairy joint ventures and wastewater treatment.

Local industrialists welcome the foreign interest but say the offer should not stop at the border. "We are happy to see Austrian, Chinese and other investors coming, but a local manufacturer who has paid taxes for 20 years should not be forced to run between five offices while the foreign company gets the red carpet treatment," said a Lahore-based industrialist.

He added that facilitation should depend on the project and the jobs it created, not on the passport of the investor. Local and foreign investors should get the same incentives, the same speed in approvals and the same certainty that the policy will not change," he said.

Punjab is not the only province that prefers foreign investors, all other provinces, including Islamabad, also want foreign investment as it brings dollars, transfer of technology and much more. However, the hue and cry is not new.

Earlier, in consultative sessions on investment policy at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the chamber office-bearers said foreign investment could not be encouraged without promoting local investment and the confidence of local investors must be restored first. The Board of Investment says the government treats both local and foreign investors equally.

The government has offered investors in Punjab SEZs a 10-year income tax holiday and one-time duty-free import of machinery, and has described these as open to both domestic and international investors. Businessmen say the real test is whether those benefits reach a small or medium-sized local firm as easily as a large foreign company.

The need for fresh capital is clear. UN Comtrade data shows Austria bought about $428.52 million of Pakistani goods in 2025, mostly clothing and textile, a growth of 20%, while Pakistan imported goods worth $115.73 million from Austria.

Austrian investment in energy, dairy and agriculture is still small compared with textile trade. Punjab is not the only province competing for capital. Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also have SEZs, with many linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Punjab's advantages include its large domestic market and industrial clusters in Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat. Businessmen say these advantages will matter more if investors see the same rules for everyone. The meeting produced agreements in areas of cooperation, including hydroelectric power, technical education, tourism, garments, leather, footwear and livestock.

However, it did not announce any specific projects, investment figures or timelines. Whether the talks lead to investment may depend on how Punjab treats investors who are already there.