Faiza Tehseen

The trade and business sectors in Pakistan need less red tape to attract more foreign investors and foreign direct investment (FDI), an official from the Board of Investment (BOI) told WealthPK. “It is important to strengthen the country’s economic cycle. As the USAID is already acting as a funding agency to stimulate different economic outcomes in Pakistan by involving both local and foreign sources, especially from the European side, the BOI with the coordination of the US aid agency has prepared a reforms-based agenda addressing all the business sectors,” said the BOI official. To prepare this agenda, officials, experts, and other stakeholders from both the public and private sectors also participated. Recently, the BOI and USAID conducted a workshop on ‘Regulatory Reforms through Principle Based Regulatory Framework’. The session that continued for four days acted as a vital catalyst for fostering investment attraction.

It was attended by senior officials from relevant ministries and departments as well as mentors from the private sector and academia. The core motive was to develop reform proposals to bring ease in all economic sectors. The BOI official said that the public and private sector stakeholders had fruitful discussions that led to many practical reform proposals. The BOI will examine them carefully and then share them with the relevant agencies for implementation after the federal cabinet approves them. The whole process will be carried out under the supervision of the Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative (PRMI) Steering Committee with the executive oversight by the Prime Minister’s Office. “We are working with a focused approach. In the first phase, only the federal regulators are invited, while the provinces will join us in the next phase.

We have introduced many reforms concerning bottlenecks in businesses and will take them up. Economies all over the world are following specific rules and regulations. It is the first time in Pakistan that the BOI and USAID have introduced such reforms and principles after the approval of the federal cabinet. The already existing rules were also reconsidered to check their reliability and compatibility. All the said exercise is done not only to introduce the importance of regulatory principles but also help get proper outcomes of Investment Promotion Activity (IPA) – a fund established by the USAID. IPA is a five-year plan (December 2021-December 2026) – another productive part of the US government’s long-term assurance to help strengthen Pakistan’s economy.

IPA is improving various sectors in Pakistan, such as regulatory reforms to streamline business practices, reduce business costs, and enhance the investment climate for foreign investors. IPA is also helping to build the capacity of institutions that promote investment, improve the ecosystem for FDI, and increase the US-Pakistan bilateral trade and business opportunities. The BOI official said that the IPA will help attract US$75 million in FDI, increase US–Pakistan trade by US$40 million, and foster more collaboration between the US and Pakistani firms. As a result, the private sector investment in Pakistan will grow by US$25 million by the end of 2026.

Credit: INP-WealthPk