Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Thursday said the government was working hard to improve ease of doing business in the country by providing maximum facilities to the local as well as international investors.
“We are working hard on ease of doing business and the numbers of businesses are gradually improving,” he said this while addressing the First Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Capital Market Regulators Forum here.
The two-day forum on the theme of “CAREC Capital Markets: Fostering Stronger Cross-Border Cooperation” was jointly organized by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and CAREC. He invited the investors to take benefit from the opportunities offered by the government, saying, they would feel comfortable while doing business in benefiting from the tremendous opportunities in sector of economy.
Hafeez Shaikh said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) believed in transparency and on behalf of the prime minister, he assured the investors that henceforth they would no more face hardships and other issues while doing business.
He said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was the flagship project of Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which will help promote connectivity among the regional countries. Through this project the Western China would get the shortest rout to Gwadar Sea Port. He said after completion of road network, energy and infrastructure facilities under the BRI and CPEC, the country would have such a platform through which inter-regional connectivity would be improved significantly.
On privatisation, he said, “We are also initiating privatisation programme to bring foreign investment as well as to motivate local businessmen to come and undertake the job of running commercial enterprises”. The adviser said Special Economic Zones being built under CPEC would also help increase Foreign Direct Investment in the country.
Promoting communication and connectivity, he said was vital for regional development and by improving regulations, the transparency of capital market could be improved. He said capital market was important for financial needs of private sector.
Hafeez said Pakistan had conveyed a message to the world that Pakistan was maintaining financial discipline and after entering the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, a positive image of Pakistan’s economy had built up around the globe Earlier, addressing the forum, SECP Chairman Amir Ahmed Khan said this forum had provided an avenue for capital market regulators to exchange ideas and share best practices, besides promoting an inclusive reform agenda for attracting private capital for development and growth across the region.
“Pakistan has progressive economic policies that provide incentives to Foreign Portfolio Investment.” For instance, he said 100 percent foreign ownership was allowed without any repatriation restrictions. Foreigners can freely buy and sell in the securities market. He said that simple entry requirements had been refined over the period of time for foreign investors and the the government had a vision for use of technology to serve the public at large.
