Lahore - The business community has hoped that International Investment Conference in Islamabad would pave way for much-needed foreign investment.
They said that by encouraging foreign direct investment, Pakistan can gain technological advancement, knowledge and expertise from the global arena therefore every possible step should be taken to make country attractive for the foreign investors. “Measures to encourage investment are especially important in the country as this is an area where we have long been at a disadvantage despite having all resources”, they said.
They said that those obstacles should be removed through a positive approach and practical steps which are coming in the way of FDI in Pakistan and top of the list is the cost of doing business.
They said that Pakistan ranks worse than other countries of the region as far as cost of doing business is concerned.
The LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad said severest-ever energy shortfall, bad law and order situation, institutional fragility and the political instability were the major factors keeping the foreign investors away. FPCCI President Mian Adrees urged the government to initiate meaningful discourse with the private sector to boost up foreign direct investment (FDI) that is not up to the mark.
“Though Pakistan ranks 62nd in the FDI-friendly countries that does not reflect its potential and available resources” he said, adding that there is a dire need to promote economic vitality by strengthening private sector as internal dynamism has faded away due to acute energy shortage, deteriorating law and order and political instability.