Pakistan launches initiative to attract investment from expatriates

Pakistan has launched a new project aimed at identifying senior Pakistani expatriates who can be targeted for investment outreach. The Board of Investment (BOI) intends to develop value propositions for companies led or supported by these expatriates to encourage investment in Pakistan.

To develop and implement this strategy, BOI plans to hire a reputable consultancy firm registered with the Sales Tax and Income Tax Department for the fiscal year 2024-25.

The BOI invites electronic Expressions of Interest (EOI) from experienced consultants or consultancy firms. The selection method will be based on quality and cost.

The scope of the consultancy services includes conducting detailed feasibility studies on selected opportunities for investment already identified by the BOI.

These studies will focus on sectors where Pakistan has a comparative advantage to attract global companies looking to reroute supply chains and manufacturing due to changes in tariff regimes and other measures.

The analysis should outline the financial impact on companies investing in Pakistan and provide high-level estimates of potential investment from joint ventures or investment plans.

The sectors under study will exclude those already being explored by the BOI, such as leather articles, textiles, medical and surgical equipment, plastics, fruit and vegetable products, edible meat/fisheries, and animal fodder/poultry feed.

Key activities include establishing criteria to screen and identify senior Pakistani expatriates for investment outreach, developing value propositions for companies to consider investment in Pakistan, and calculating the financial and economic impact of such investments on both the companies and Pakistan.

The consultancy will also benchmark similar outreach and expatriate engagement initiatives globally and profile successful case studies. An implementation strategy will be developed based on the analysis of comparable efforts by other governments or similar bodies.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a 48 percent increase in FDI, with inflows reaching $771 million in Q1FY25. Although growth in FDI is evident, the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) emphasized that reliance on limited investors and sectors may hinder long-term stability.

Global FDI patterns have been turbulent, with a 42 percent drop in 2020 due to the pandemic, followed by a rebound in 2021. In Pakistan, FDI remains inconsistent, fluctuating between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion over the last decade, with recent declines attributed to political and economic instability.