PBIF chief lauds Prime Minister's decision of BoI restructuring

President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain has lauded decision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to restructure the Board of Investment (BoI). The move would save sizable amount of resources which could be utilised in other constructive initiatives instead of leaving it for being wasted in BoI with no improvement in the foreign investment and its one window operations remained questionable, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed massive restructuring of the BoI including winding up of its regional offices as it had failed to deliver on that objective more than two decades of its existence. After passage of 18th amendment it is the responsibility of provinces to provide facilities to the investors therefore there is no logic in keeping regional offices of BoI.
Moreover, the provinces have established similar organisations which are resulting in duplication of effort and running parallel organisations is not wise. BoI can under no circumstances justify its existence and expenditure as it has never been fully functional and vibrant. The decision was long due as BoI has become a white elephant since long which was apparent from falling FDI while no one was ever held responsible for the situation.
The provincial offices of BoI are wasting around Rs 100 million per annum which is a drain on the national exchequer. He also demanded a ban on foreign trips of the top officials of BoI. He said Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has clocked up at $64.3 million in July this year, down 14.6 percent from FDI received during the same month last year.
"China has emerged as the principal foreign direct investor in the last fiscal year, with a net inflow of almost $600 million which helped a surge in FDI up to 38.8 percent year on year to $1.28 billion with China contributing almost half of the inflows under CPEC but now its share is decreasing as well, which is matter of great concerned," he added. Pakistan has faced low levels of foreign investment in recent years which is raising concerns as FDI is imperative for the sustainability of the economy.