ISLAMABAD: Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Chairman Farid Ahmad Tarar has said that strong competition institutions and a predictable regulatory environment are increasingly important for attracting investment, promoting innovation, improving productivity and supporting sustainable economic growth, while ensuring that the benefits of competitive markets ultimately reach consumers.
Speaking at the 2026 National Fair Competition Conference of China in Xi’an, Tarar said competition enforcement and investment facilitation should not be viewed as competing objectives. Effective and predictable competition regulation, he said, can strengthen investor confidence while ensuring that markets remain open and competitive.
He told the high-level international gathering that Pakistan’s competition regime was undergoing institutional transformation, with the CCP moving towards more proactive, evidence-based and intelligence-led enforcement.
A key element of this shift is the Commission’s Market Intelligence Unit (MIU), which has identified more than 225 potential competition cases across different sectors. The CCP is increasingly focusing its enforcement resources on market conduct capable of having wider economic and consumer impact, including cartels, abuse of dominance, deceptive marketing practices and emerging competition concerns in digital markets.
Tarar also highlighted the role of merger control in facilitating investment. During the last two years, the CCP issued 121 merger clearance orders, facilitating approximately Rs29.65 billion in foreign direct investment, besides granting 83 exemptions for legitimate business arrangements. Digital markets are also becoming a major focus of the Commissio°n’s future regulatory agenda. The chairman said artificial intelligence, big data, algorithms and digital platforms were creating new competition challenges and required competition authorities to strengthen their analytical and enforcement capabilities.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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