ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has shared complete economic data with a visiting Saudi delegation, including details of its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, external debt profile and the terms of deferred oil facilities with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, well-informed sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday.
A high-level business delegation from Saudi Arabia, led by Prince Mansoor bin Mohammad Al Saud, Chairman of the Saudi-Pak Joint Business Council (SPJBC), is currently here on a four-day (October 7-11) visit.
The visit is aimed at strengthening the fraternal relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia by enhancing bilateral trade and investment, particularly in G2B and B2B landscape.
High-level Saudi business delegation arrives in Islamabad
The Saudi delegation includes prominent business leaders from a range of strategic sectors, including investment holdings and financial services, agriculture and livestock, infrastructure and construction, oil and gas, minerals and mining, power and energy, hospitality, real estate, entertainment, steel and iron, logistics, food, retail, and trading.
According to sources, both sides have made presentations highlighting sectors open to international investment.
They said the Prime Minister’s Office and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) compiled and shared an extensive set of economic data with the Saudi delegation, covering the following areas: Balance of payments and external accounts including remittances data disaggregated by worker type (skilled vs unskilled) – State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OPHRD) (ii) foreign exchange reserves composition including maturity profiles – SBP (iii) outstanding bilateral and multilateral swap/deferred oil facilities with terms – Ministry of Finance, SBP (iv) terms of deferred oil facilities with Saudi Arabia and UAE – Ministry of Finance. Fiscal and Tax Data Relevant to Trade and Investments: (i) tax expenditure reports showing concessions, exemptions and SROs by sector – Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) (ii) details on circular debt in energy – (Power Division & Petroleum Division).Production and Industrial Capacity: (i) pipeline of SEZ and industrial projects under CPEC and SIFC – Board of Investment (BoI), SIFC & Ministry of Industries and Production. Logistics & Trade Facilitation(ii) port-level import/export clearance times, demurrage, and container dwell times – Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MoMA) and (ii) customs data on non-tariff barriers, detentions, and valuation disputes – FBR/Customs. Labour, Migration: (i) emigration records by skill category and destination country – M/o OPHRD (ii) wage surveys for Pakistani workers abroad – M/o OPHRD. Investment & FDI: (i) historical FDI breakdown: greenfield vs Brownfield vs acquisitions – SBP.Debt & External Obligations: (i) external debt servicing profile by creditor, instrument, and maturity – Ministry of Finance (MoF) (ii) details of bilateral rollovers (China, Saudi Arabia, UAE) – MoF. Balance of Payments & External Accounts: (i) detailed import and export data by HS-6 digit level for the last 10 years (including 2024), disaggregated by product and sector by country of origin and destination and including unit values and volumes (combined) – Ministry of Commerce (MoC) (ii) services trade data (IT, transport, financial, construction, etc) disaggregated by country and sector together – MoC& SBP (iii) capital account and financial flows (FDI, portfolio inflows, debt, grants), disaggregated by sector, country, and instrument (combined) – SBP (iv) detailed export promotion policies, by sector where possible – MoC (v) industrial policy by sector – Min of Industries (vi) details on capital controls – SBP (v) sector specific strategies (eg energy, IT, agriculture) – respective ministries (vi) major trade agreements, by partner/country – MoC. Fiscal and tax data relevant to trade and investments: taxes, import duty, GST, and excise revenue breakdown by HS code and sector – FBR (ii) details on taxation regime that influences investments – FBR (iii) annual expenditure report published by – MoF. Investment and FDI: (i) pipeline of approved and pending FDI projects with sectors, values, and status – SBP and EAD (ii) information on FX restrictions – SBP.Debt and external obligations (i)IMF programme detailed documents – MoF.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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