Qaiser highlights Pakistan’s regulatory reforms at World Economic Forum

By Dr Ansab Ali
Lahore, Pakistan

NEW YORK: Federal Minister for Board of Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh has highlighted Pakistan’s regulatory reforms, investor facilitation measures and growing opportunities for sustainable, technology-driven and export-oriented investment.

He was speaking at a high-level dialogue of the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2026 in New York.

Addressing the Global Regulatory Innovation Platform’s opening panel, “Regulating Through Uncertainty: Turning Innovation Into Implementation,” the minister said Pakistan was working to establish a regulatory environment that protects the public interest, strengthens investor confidence and enables innovation to move from ideas to implementation.

Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said the government was focused on developing simple, clear and predictable regulations while maintaining essential safeguards. He said effective regulation should allow investors to plan with confidence while remaining flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances.

The minister highlighted the leading role of the Board of Investment in regulatory modernization, saying more than 500 regulatory reforms had been implemented across around 30 sectors in coordination with approximately 90 federal and provincial departments.

He said the Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative (PRMI) was providing a structured framework for reviewing, simplifying and digitizing business-related regulations. The Asaan Karobar Act 2025 had further institutionalized the regulatory modernization agenda through mechanisms including the Pakistan Regulatory Registry and Pakistan Business Portal.

According to the minister, these measures were aimed at reducing unnecessary regulatory requirements, lowering compliance costs, improving coordination among government institutions and making public services more accessible and predictable for businesses and investors.

Highlighting a practical example of regulatory reform, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said the Board of Investment’s Business Facilitation Centre (BFC) in Islamabad had brought 22 federal agencies under one roof, enabling businesses and investors to access registrations, licences, certificates, permits, approvals and other regulatory services through a coordinated platform.

He said that during its first eight months, the centre served 5,386 businesses, processed 4,555 approvals and NOCs, facilitated investment worth PKR 5.08 billion and supported 15,680 jobs, while recording an investor satisfaction rating of 9.8 out of 10.

“Pakistan is moving from fragmented procedures towards coordinated, investor-focused service delivery. The Business Facilitation Centre is a practical example of how regulatory reform can be translated into implementation,” he said.

Discussing artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, the minister said Pakistan was committed to encouraging innovation while maintaining human accountability, security, transparency and public trust.

He said the country was pursuing an adaptive and proportionate approach to emerging technologies, including controlled experimentation and regulatory sandboxes. He noted that institutions such as the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the State Bank of Pakistan had experience with sandbox mechanisms that allow innovative models to be tested in controlled environments before wider implementation.

Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said Pakistan’s National AI Policy, along with broader regulatory modernization efforts, would support responsible AI development and adoption while creating space for investment and innovation.

“Moving quickly does not mean regulating less. It means creating regulation that can learn and adapt,” he said, stressing the importance of evidence-based policymaking, stakeholder consultation and periodic regulatory review.

The minister also highlighted Pakistan’s investment framework, saying the country offered significant opportunities to international investors across various productive sectors.

He said that under the Investment Policy 2023, foreign investors could hold up to 100 percent ownership in most sectors, subject to applicable sector-specific requirements, while profit and capital repatriation was available through relevant foreign-exchange procedures.

He further highlighted Pakistan’s 44 notified Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as an important platform for industrialization, export growth, technology transfer and employment generation.

According to the minister, eligible enterprises operating in SEZs could benefit from income-tax exemptions, subject to applicable legal provisions, while qualifying plant and machinery imported for installation in SEZs could receive one-time exemptions from customs duties and taxes under the relevant framework.

Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said the incentives, combined with improved investor facilitation and regulatory reforms, were aimed at encouraging productive investment, strengthening Pakistan’s industrial base and promoting export-oriented growth.

He also highlighted Pakistan’s growing international investment engagement, particularly the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference 2025, which brought together 623 Chinese companies and nearly 300 Pakistani companies and resulted in more than 3,500 business-to-business matchmaking meetings, 25 joint ventures and 142 memoranda of understanding, representing approximately US$9.5 billion in announced business value.

He said the experience demonstrated the potential of structured business-to-business engagement to convert investment interest into concrete partnerships.

Building on the Pakistan-China experience, the minister said Pakistan now aimed to develop similar investment and B2B engagements with other countries and international markets to create opportunities for joint ventures, technology partnerships, exports and long-term investment.

He said Pakistan was particularly seeking investment in sustainable and export-oriented manufacturing, technology and digital services, renewable energy and energy efficiency, agribusiness and food processing, minerals, infrastructure and logistics, industrial clusters and SEZs, innovation and venture capital, and public-private partnerships.

The minister also underscored the importance of sustainability and climate resilience, saying investment in renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, efficient water systems and sustainable manufacturing could contribute to economic resilience, employment generation and long-term development.

Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh invited global companies, institutional investors, sovereign investors and development partners to explore investment and technology partnership opportunities in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan’s participation in the World Economic Forum dialogue reflected its commitment to learning from international regulatory experience while adapting relevant global practices to the country’s economic, institutional and development context.

The Board of Investment, he added, remained committed to facilitating investors, strengthening regulatory coordination, reducing unnecessary regulatory requirements and positioning Pakistan as a competitive destination for sustainable, export-oriented and technology-driven investment.