ISLAMABAD: Chairman Board of Investment (BoI) Atif Bokhari called on the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin at the Finance Division, on Monday, and briefed him on the working, said a press release.

The chairman BoI briefed the Finance Minister on working of the BOI as a lead agency which is responsible for Investment Promotion, Investment Protection and Investment facilitation in the country. The BOI acts as an interface between local and international investors, public and private sectors and promotes trade and investment through policy and strategic interventions.

The role of BoI has become more important than ever to attract and retain investment amid Covid-19 and in post-Covid scenario, he added. The major initiative of BOI is improvement in Ease of Doing Business (EODB) in which Pakistan advanced 28 places to attain 108th position during 2020. The BOI spearheaded the reform process.

BOI introduced a series of reforms to streamline areas such as starting a business, getting construction permits, registering property, getting electricity, paying taxes and trading across the borders.

Pakistan registered significant improvement in six key indicators which eventually led to improvement in overall ranking. The chairman apprised about Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative (PRMI) to make Pakistan’s businesses competitive by reducing compliance burden.

The idea behind PRMI is to introduce Smart Regulation. The chairman also updated the Finance Minister about significant progress made in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on the occasion. The finance minister commended the facilitation model adopted by BoI and assured full support and facilitation for creating conducive business environment to transform Pakistan into one of the top investment destinations as envisaged by the prime minister.—PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021