LAHORE  -  Punjab Board of Investment & Trade (PBIT) hosted a roundtable discussion focusing on attracting small ticket investments from overseas Pakistanis. A broad range of Pakistani expatriates, from across a variety of sectors such as healthcare, energy, finance and IT, attended the roundtable.

One of the most potent recommendations emphasized by the overseas community was the need to have a robust overseas investment protection program, with the right legislative backing and approval. The proposed Overseas Investment Protection Program (OIPP) must in essence ensure protection from fraud, theft and other possible risks that threaten small ticket investments from overseas Pakistanis. Linked to this recommendation was the emphasis by the overseas community on streamlining the efficiency of the banking channels so that key concerns such as repatriation of profits from investments be sufficiently addressed.

The overseas Pakistani community expressed strong enthusiasm in investing in Pakistan, and includes both passive investments in assets such as real estate and more active investments in new or existing ventures. Punjab offers a wide range of investment opportunities in a variety of key sectors, and the overseas Pakistani community can play a vital role in the economic growth journey of Punjab and Pakistan.

The participants agreed to meet regularly and constitute a think tank which can propose and suggest the better options to the government to create an investor friendly environment in Pakistan.

The participants included Saeed Akbar from Environment World Co, Hasib Aftab from AT Group, Zia Faroqui from Aznostics, Almas Hyder from SPEL Group, Mian Nawaz from Marflex group, Amir Nadeem, Mohammad Ali Khan, Mazhar Alam, Mr. Ayub Ghauri from Netsol and Azhar Aslam from Standard National Bank.