With its unique geo-strategic location, vast human resources and a huge untapped growth potential, Pakistan provides attractive incentives and liberal policies for investment in all sectors of the economy for foreign and local investors.

The traditional as well as non-traditional sectors of our economy offer the business community great opportunities to invest in the country and to have maximum dividends. The engineering, infrastructure, power, horticulture and manufacturing sectors are some of the areas where exists great potential to be further explored for mutual benefit of all.

The Government of Pakistan is cognizant of various challenges to its economy and is undertaking every possible effort to overcome these challenges within the shortest possible time.

I invite you to visit Pakistan and to take maximum advantage of investment opportunities in the country.

Dr. Arif Alvi,
President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

With over 180 million inhabitants, Pakistan offers its investors a strong and large consumer market with an ever expanding middle class. Strategically placed at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia and close proximately with the Gulf makes Pakistan a promising regional hub and an important market for intra and inter-regional trade and investment.

Pakistan as an investment destination, offers an investor friendly policy with the commitment to resolve and enhance comfort level. Almost all sectors of economy are opened to investment with attractive incentives and liberal policies to give Pakistan an edge over all its regional competitors.

Pakistan offers equal opportunities to foreign and local investors. Pakistan’s economy is based on strong fundamental of competitiveness. As an emerging economy, Pakistan offers the opportunity of diversification to global players and strong intend to structure forms in various sectors of the economy.

Pakistan holds vast investment opportunities with lucrative returns to investors. The Government as a policy has significant role of facilitating entrepreneurs to enhance ease of doing business. We have mandated the Board of Investment to serve as facilitator to investors, and under the new vision I am sure that there will be facilitation of investors needs at the highest level.

I welcome you to invest in Pakistan now, so that we establish win-win situation in which Pakistan progress and your investment flourish.

Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi
Prime Minister, Islamic Republic of Pakistan

The Board of Investment (BOI) is Pakistan’s premier investment promotion body, responsible for attracting, facilitating and promoting both local and foreign investment in Pakistan. Despite the downturn in the global economy, Pakistan has experienced the return of foreign investment, structural reforms implementation, improvement in the overall fiscal and monetary situation. Pakistan has attracted over 15 billion US dollars in Foreign Direct Investment since 2008.

It is typical for a developing country such as ours to be faced by challenges however, international investors appreciate the fact that Pakistan is the first amongst its region to liberalize both its economy and investment policy. Furthermore, history stands witness that no foreign investment has ever been nationalized in the country. Government of Pakistan lays great emphasis on sustainable economic development and thus the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will have to play a fundamental role in energizing Pakistan’s economy. As Adviser, Board of Investment (BOI,) I intend to further advance our endeavors and mobilize private investments, both domestic and foreign. Our strategy, complimenting our robust FDI framework, will not only lead to non-financial contributions that come along with FDI but also to increased economic development.

Systematically, we aim to achieve our vision by further liberalizing Pakistan’s regulatory environment to make it easier for domestic and foreign entities to start up and develop. We aim to streamline and formalize business procedures to elevate Pakistan’s ranking in “Ease of Doing Business Ranking Index,” and increasing global competitiveness. BOI has a strong history of actively encouraging and facilitating the flow of FDI in Pakistan through speedy and transparent processing of applications, SEZ act, Investment Policy and Strategy. We welcome investors to make their businesses a success in the most lucrative investment destination of the world, Pakistan. BOI provides a professional one-window interface for all investors local and international.

Abdul Razak Dawood
Adviser on Investment with the status of Federal Minister,
Board of Investment

Pakistan is passing through an exciting transformation with increased regional connectivity through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), political stability and revival of economic growth to catch up with the East Asian economies. Like any other emerging market, the main challenge for Pakistan is to offer an attractive economic value proposition to both the domestic as well as the international investors. The key for Pakistan is to come up with a competitive economic growth strategy and institutionalized ways to ensure policy consistency to sustain and consolidate investor confidence in a huge market of over two hundred million consumers connected with the markets of Western China, West and Central Asia. 

The Board of Investment has set clear targets for facilitating investors with an aim to improve the investment to GDP ratio in Pakistan. This effort will require timely inputs to macro-economic policies, bi-lateral investment treaties, setting up economic zones and providing a level playing field to all investors by improving ease of doing business indicators. The new economic team led by the Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to evolve a conducive policy environment which provides incentives and security to private investors. The Board of Investment is your first point of contact to ensure a smooth transaction of establishing and running an enterprise in Pakistan. 

My team is confident to demonstrate a pro-active service delivery approach for all investors by ensuring smooth coordination with multiple agencies to facilitate investments in the productive sectors to enhance the rate of economic growth and job creation in Pakistan. I personally look forward to your feed-back for improving our services. 

Haroon Sharif
MOS / Chairman,
Board of Investment

The Government has adopted the policies of privatization, liberalization and deregulation of economy in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Investment Policy has been formulated to create an investors friendly environment with a focus on further opening up the economy and attract foreign direct investment and provide equal treatment to foreign and local investors. Foreign equity upto 100% is allowed, there is no restriction on remittances of royalty, technical & franchise fee, dividends, capital & profits gains.

Due to this policy the inflows witnessed an unprecedented increase between 2001-08, mainly due to economic reforms, financial and capital market reforms along-with wide scale Investment in the infrastructure by the Government of Pakistan. However, Investment has registered declining trend since 2008 due to global recession, domestic problems of energy crises and security concerns. However, the economy has now started showing sign of rejuvenation. The investment policy would be supported by investment growth strategy 2013-17, to provide comfort to prospective investors for continuation of Investment regime. 

To meet the global challenges and international competitiveness effectively, Government of Pakistan has created Special Economic Zones (SEZs) scheme in Pakistan, which will become basic tool to assist investment policy. The establishment of SEZs will help to attract FDI. The SEZs law will allow to create industrial clusters with liberal incentives, infrastructure facilities, tax reliefs, investment facilitation services to enhance productivity and ease in doing business through one window operation. The law will also ensure consistency, continuity and transparency in economic policy beyond political divide and restore investor confidence; it further guarantees that incentives once granted would not be withdrawn due to conflict of interest. 

I acknowledge the hard work of BOI officials in achieving these objectives despite going through the most difficult times. I wish them success in achieving higher results by working as a strong team. 

Secretary, Board of Investment