BoI Chairman for exploiting investment opportunities in ZEZs under CPEC

Chairman Board of Investment Naeem Zamindar on Monday called upon the investors across of the world to exploit huge investment opportunities offered by Pakistan in Special Economic Zones projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Talking to a delegation of World Bank (WB), headed by its Regional Vice President Annette Dixon, he underlined that in Pakistan entrepreneurs were recognized as important drivers of economic and social progress.

He invited the bank to invest in national insurance fund and other venture capital funds to promote and strengthen the local capital sector, said a press release here.

Chairman BoI appreciated the efforts of the bank for improving business climate in the country and emphasized that simplification of procedures in every area of the business cycle was important to attract investment in the country.

Executive Director General BoI Fareena Mazhar gave a detailed presentation, highlighting the initiatives of federal and provincial governments to automate and reform the processes involved in each business indicator.

She apprised the participants that 41 reforms actions had been introduced in Pakistan for the last two years but World Bank has recognized only four reforms in the last year.

She stressed on updating and expansion of contributors list, reviewing the flaws in the methodology and need for data corrections.

Chairperson Sindh Board of Investment Naheed Memon also appreciated the efforts being made by World Bank Group, BoI and other stakeholders to improve ease of doing business in Pakistan.

While referring to the efforts of government of Sindh, she informed that a notification was being issued by Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) regarding reduction of connection time from 61 to 21 days.

She said Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) would eliminate four procedures for reducing time from 60 to 32 days for getting construction permit and government of Sindh would launch their Business Portal shortly.

Secretary Planning and Development, Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo also shared with the visiting team reforms actions initiated by Punjab, which inter-alia include automated land registration process in Lahore reducing the time taken from 56 days to 18 days and procedures from 7 to 4, reduction of time for getting construction permits from 60 to 21 days only and automation and linkages of sub-registrar offices with PLRA system.

He also highlighted that three mediation centers made functional at District Court Lahore and around 6,812 references resolved out of 10,637 references.

Annette Dixon speaking on the occasion said that 100 days sprint was a good and fantastic idea to have remarkable results but for the sustainability of this national reforms agenda, long term efforts would also be required.

She also emphasized that parallel efforts were also required to improve the situations in other supporting areas like energy, infrastructure, security and particularly human development. She also proposed a strong feedback mechanism for enhancing ease of doing business.