ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphasized the need of greater focus on addressing issues related to Ease of Doing Business in Sindh, in view of Karachi's importance as financial hub of the country.
He was chairing a meeting here on Wednesday to review progress on improving Ease of Doing Business. It was decided at the meeting that regular Ease of Doing Business meetings would be chaired by the Prime Minister with participation of Chief Ministers and provincial Chief Secretaries.
It was also decided that dedicated EoDB offices would be set up at Federal and provincial level for the purpose of removing bottlenecks and facilitating investors in the smooth business operations.
Chairman Board of Investment briefed the Prime Minister about progress on various indicators related to Ease of Doing Business.
The meeting was informed that the number of tax payments has been brought down from forty-seven to twenty-one. The Chairman said efforts are underway to introduce e-payments of social security contributions in Sindh and Punjab.
Similarly, efforts are also being made to improve risk-management system to reduce number of physical audits. About the ease of starting business, the Prime Minister was informed that integration of SECP with provincial portals and EOBI has been completed in Punjab and efforts are underway to expedite launch of portal in Sindh.
On ease in getting electricity, the Prime Minister was informed that significant progress has been made to facilitate provision of power and timely information to the businesses.
The meeting was also briefed about the steps being taken to facilitate trading across borders and reducing clearance time in imports and exports.
Briefing the meeting about various positive developments with regards to investment facilitation, it was informed that MoU on industrial cooperation has been signed with China last month.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Asad Umar, Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood, Advisor to Prime Minister Dr Ishrat Hussain, Chairman BOI Haroon Sharif, SAPM Iftikhar Durrani and other senior officials.