In London today, senior figures from London’s financial and capital marketsmet with interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to discuss their stronginterest in investment opportunities within Pakistan.
In June, Pakistan established the Special Investment Facilitation Council(SIFC), a collaborative forum involving both civil and military components,aimed at expediting decision-making and encouraging foreign investment.This council has identified agriculture, mining, information technology,defense production, and energy as its priority sectors for investment.
Pakistan, facing a balance of payments crisis, requires substantial foreignexchange to address its trade deficit and repay international debts in thecurrent fiscal year. During his recent visit to New York for the UN GeneralAssembly, Kakar engaged with business leaders and stakeholders to advocatefor a more conducive business environment in Pakistan, emphasizing itspotential for foreign direct investment across various sectors.
Following the meeting with prominent investment firms such as FidelityInternational Limited (FIL), Wellington Management, Ashmore, JefferiesInternational, Redwheel Capital, Switex Industrial SA, Oxford FrontierCapital, GuarantCo, JP Morgan, Kalrock Capital, and UBL UK, the PrimeMinister’s Office revealed that these investors expressed a keen interestin exploring promising investment opportunities in Pakistan’s financial andcapital markets.
This underscores the growing mutual interest in expanding economiccollaboration. Prime Minister Kakar briefed the delegation on Pakistan’scurrent economic landscape, highlighting government measures taken toimprove the external account. He mentioned that recent administrativeactions had strengthened the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar,instilling optimism for economic stability.
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Additionally, he noted positive indicators, including inflows frominstitutions like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and friendlynations, contributing to reduced inflation, stabilized reserves, and aresurgence in industrial growth. Kakar also discussed the potential forforeign direct investment in key sectors of Pakistan and highlighted thepositive impact of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF, agreed uponin June.
He emphasized economic improvements such as reduced inflation and improvedtrade due to the removal of import restrictions, along with fiscal measuresfor monetary support and medium-term inflation targets.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister emphasized Pakistan’s pro-investmentefforts and introduced the Special Investment Facilitation Council as aninitiative led by himself, aimed at streamlining investment processes,attracting investments in critical sectors, and simplifying the businesslandscape to foster long-term growth.
