Govt eyes billions of dollars in foreign investment

Cabinet approves new policy that offers special incentives and protections

ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – As the cash-starved Pakistan urgently requires foreign investment to revive economic activity, the coalition government has come up with a new policy, incentivising foreign investment – chiefly from the Gulf States – in an attempt to find long-term solutions to a plethora of challenges.

Sources say the federal cabinet approved the Pakistan Economic Policy 2023 through circulation, which now allows foreign investors to send the entire profit abroad in their own country's currency amid special protection.

It is worth noting that Pakistan is not attractive for investors – both domestic and foreign – thanks to a range of issues – political and economic uncertainty to government policies and infrastructure.

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Hence, Pakistan is ranked 108th out of the 190 countries around the globe, according to a World Bank report, when it comes to ease/ cost of doing business.

That’s the government thought it necessary to formulate a new policy in consultation with the top international financial institutions to attract over $20 billion in foreign investment.

In recent weeks, the government members have been expressing their confidence about the Gulf States – Saudi Arabia and the UAE – opting for investment in Pakistan, which makes the introduction of this policy seemingly a basic requirement.

Among other incentives, the government has now removed the minimum equity rate for foreign investment and the foreigners can invest in all sectors barring a few the details of which aren’t available so far.

Earlier this week, UAE Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said that his country was interesting in exploring investment opportunities in Pakistan’s renewable energy sector, after which the two sides had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the subject.

Previously, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik last week had revealed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were taking keen interest in Pakistani information technology, agriculture and mining sectors.

He had claimed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had planned to invest $24bn and $22bn in the three sectors.

Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been taking practical steps to diversify their economy not only by making their countries investors-friendly but also by investing huge sums in other nations too with a common goal to be less dependent on oil revenue.