Local investors be facilitated to attract investment: minister

LAHORE: Federal Minister, Board of Investment Chaudhry Salik Hussain said that no foreign investment can be attracted unless the local investor is facilitated.

He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI President Kashif Anwar and Senior Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood also spoke on the occasion.

The minister said that before giving priority and protocol to the foreign investor, incentives should be given to the local investors because if he is happy, only then someone from outside will come to invest.

He said that the situation here in Pakistan is that the government institutions are ahead and investors are behind them. The aim of the government should be that the business community earns and not be harassed arbitrarily. Such an environment should be created so that people can increase their profit.

He said that Special Economic Zones are functioning in the same way as Export Processing Zones. The penalties that are being imposed on solar power in some societies will be discussed as the whole world is currently investing in renewable energy.

He said that chambers should give their opinion on dollar amnesty so that a scheme can be executed to convince those who have dollars. He said that no political party has an economic manifesto. First we have to ask ourselves that whenever a party comes to power, do they have any economic policy.

On the question of Afghan transit trade, he said that Afghanistan is a landlocked country and the only way is to supply goods there by land route. We have to continue the Afghan transit trade but the taxes should be revisited. “I will continue to raise my voice on issues like refunds, taxes, investment of the business community”, he said.

LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that the promotion of foreign investment as well as local investment is the most important need of the hour. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan, the ratio of total investment in our country is only 15 percent of GDP, which is quite low. The share of private investment in this is only 10 percent of GDP, which has become inevitable to increase.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023