Finance Minister Briefed On BoI's Initiatives, Reforms

Chairman, Board of Investment (BOI) Atif Bokhari Monday called on the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin and briefed him on working of the board as a lead agency responsible for investment promotion, protection and facilitation in the country

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd May, 2021 ) :Chairman, Board of Investment (BOI) Atif Bokhari Monday called on the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin and briefed him on working of the board as a lead agency responsible for investment promotion, protection and facilitation in the country.

According to press statement issued by the finance ministry, he briefed that 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 and had 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 6 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 minister about significant progress made in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on the occasion.

He said that BOI was leading the development of SEZs by collaborating with all the government organizations at the federal and provincial levels, for the provision of infrastructure and utilities to operationalize these zones.

This would help in stimulating economic activity in under-developed areas and create massive employment opportunities for the youth.

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.