Pakistan approves major economic policy to attract foreign inflows

Islamabad: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government has approved a major economic policy to attract foreign inflows, media reports said.

The federal cabinet approved the Pakistan Investment Policy 2023 through the circulation of a summary, which aims to bring $20-25 billion in investment, the sources said, Geo News reported.

The people familiar with the matter said the policy was readied after consultations with the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, and provincial and federal institutions.

In the new policy, the minimum equity rate for foreign investment has been abolished, the sources said. Foreign investors will be allowed to invest in all sectors except six, the sources said, without specifying which ones.

Under the new policy, foreign investors will be allowed to remit the entire profit abroad in their own country’s currency, they said.

“Foreign investors will be given special protection,” the sources added, Geo News reported.

The development comes days after Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were taking a keen interest in Pakistan’s information technology, agriculture and mining sectors.

The kingdom planned to fix $24 billion in funds for investment purposes, while the UAE allocated $22 billion funds for exploring opportunities in three sectors of Pakistan, the state minister stated in an interview with a private television channel, Geo News reported.

Pakistan has been looking for ways to shore up its reserves as it goes through one of its most severe economic crises. The intensity lessened after the government signed a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week.