ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Board of Investment (BOI) Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh has said that the president of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) will be included in the BOI Board to ensure representation of the private sector in decision-making for the promotion of trade and investment. He said the BOI is making all-out efforts to attract domestic as well as foreign direct investment to accelerate economic growth.
He expressed these views during his visit to ICCI to congratulate the newly elected president, Sardar Tahir Mehmood. Chairman ICCI Founder Group Tariq Sadiq, Secretary General United Business Group and former President ICCI Zafar Bakhtawari, Senior Vice President Tahir Ayub, Vice President Mohammad Irfan Chaudhry, Executive Members and a large number of business community members were also present on this occasion.
Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said that, being a businessman himself, he understands the concerns of the private sector and the hurdles they face in policy implementation and investments. He highlighted that Pakistan has immense potential that can be unlocked through visionary reforms and investor facilitation by assuring that bottlenecks would be removed to ensure smooth development of business and industry.
The minister said the BOI is actively working to promote both domestic and foreign investments and informed that industries operating in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) enjoy facilities such as zero duty on imported machinery and a 10-year income tax exemption. He stressed that the business community should fully capitalize on these incentives. He added that efforts on deregulation and One Window Operations are underway, while meetings with banks are in progress to facilitate investors. He further emphasized that chambers and trade bodies should be taken on board in the policy-making process by FBR, CDA and other relevant organizations.
Welcoming the minister, ICCI President Sardar Tahir Mehmood said the chamber considers investments as the cornerstone of economic development, which cannot be achieved without strengthening domestic investment. He highlighted the challenges faced by Islamabad’s business community, especially the high property transfer fees and FAR charges imposed by the CDA, and called for urgent redressal. He further underlined the need for policymakers to sit with FPCCI and chambers leadership to formulate viable and sustainable economic policies for the prosperity of the country.
Chairman ICCI Founder Group Tariq Sadiq reiterated the long-standing demand for a dedicated industrial zone in Islamabad to boost industrial growth and create jobs. Endorsing this proposal, UBG Secretary General and former President ICCI Zafar Bakhtawari said that if land is allocated, the business community itself is ready to develop the estate to modern standards.
ICCI Senior Vice President Tahir Ayub, Vice President Mohammad Irfan Chaudhry, and former President Mian Shaukat Masood also expressed their commitment to pursue the ease-of-doing-business agenda for the facilitation of trade and industry.
Prominent among others present on the occasion were Executive Members Zulqurnain Abbasi, Mohsin Khalid Malik, Imran Minhas, Ishaq Sial, and Raja Naveed Satti.
