BOI for enhancing regional connectivity through economic integration

---Board’s chairman

says govt working to improve all indicators of ‘Ease of Doing Business’

ISLAMABAD: The Board of Investment (BOI) on Sunday said that with economic stability as its major goal, Pakistan is pursuing the policy of promoting stronger trade links with regional countries to increase its exports and slash the trade deficit.

“Trade with neighbouring countries is our priority,

particularly with the energy-rich Central Asian Republics,” BOI Chairman
Zubair Gilani told APP in an interview.

The chairman, who took charge of his office

last week, is determined to steer the Board towards promoting regional trade
and export-led growth besides discouraging red-tapism to encourage investment
culture in the country.

Gilani was confident that the nine Special

economic Zones (SEZs) being established along the China Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC) would offer huge opportunity for the foreign and local
investors. “The opportunity is immense in terms of low-cost business facilities
including cheaper energy, decade-long tax-free zones and provision of land on
lease,” he added.

He said that the BOI was committed to

ensuring facilities for starting new businesses, property registration and
resolving insolvency for ease of doing business, especially for Small and
Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) in Lahore and Karachi.

He said that the government was working to improve all

the nine indicators of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ including starting a business,
paying taxes, credit, resolving insolvency,  construction permits, trading
across borders, property registrations, electricity and enforcing contracts to be
implemented to attract foreign investment.

Through integrated approach and the coordination between

all the concerned institutions, including Security and Exchange Commission of
Pakistan (SECP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), a mechanism would be
developed for improving ease of doing indicators, he said.

On World Bank’s report of ease of doing

business, the BOI chairman said that the government on its own was making
efforts to implement these indicators in small cities and towns to promote SME
sector.

The chairman further said that the Board was fully

concentrating to complete all the nine SEZS in stipulated time.

The SEZs have been established in all four provinces

including Rashakai Economic Zone in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dhabeji in Sindh,
Allama Iqbal Industrial City in Punjab and Bostan Indusrial Zone in Balochistan,
he added.

He said that Rashakai had a strategic significance as it

was closer to Afghanistan and central Asian countries.

On the SEZs of Hattar and Information Technology Zone in Islamabad,

he said that these two zones were on the priority list of the government and
all the issues including land and electricity had been resolved in this regard.

Gilani said that the Board was strengthening its capacity

to have specific desks and teams to deal with investors from different
countries, as well as to work on important assignments, including all SEZs. He termed
red-tapism a big issue which was hindering foreign investments, and stressed
reforms to bring the BOI at par with international standards.

Moreover, he said that the utilisation of

local fuel was the best choice for decreasing the current account deficit,
suggesting that Thar coal energy should be utilized for this purpose.

He added that public-private partnership in

industries would prove to be the best option to grow the local industry and
attract foreign investor for joint ventures.