The Board of Investment and Chinese textile firm RUYI Shangdong on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which the latter would establish textile parks of international standards in Pakistan to boost country’s exports to $5 billion and create around 0.5 million jobs. The document was signed as a nine-member delegation of RUYI group led by Chairman QiuYafu called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here as a significant development regarding Chinese investment in Pakistan following the prime minister’s recent China visit. According to the MoU signed at a ceremony witnessed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Chinese company would establish textile parks in Sindh and Punjab provinces where around 100 Chinese textile firms would be invited to invest. Briefing the prime minister, the company head said that the textile parks aimed at boosting textile exports and making the country a hub of textiles and garments. To be powered by solar energy, the textile parks would be developed as zero-carbon and automated facility to enhance the exports to $2 billion in its first phase and $5 billion in the second one besides creating from 0.3 million to 0.5 million jobs. The meeting was told that work on the textile parks to start by this yearend and would take another three years to complete. The meeting decided to form working groups in Islamabad and Beijing to further pursue the understanding. Prime Minister Shehbaz also formed a special committee under Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar comprising federal ministers for commerce, investment and privatization, industries and production, foreign secretary, a representative of Special Investment Facilitation Council and Zafaruddin Mehmood.