The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), today announced the date of the Investment Conference themed ‘Pakistan Rising’, which will be held on Friday June 21, 2019 in London. This Conference, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Imran Khan, aims to bring together salient current and potential investors from around the world to showcase investment opportunities in Pakistan.
Sharing his views on the occasion, Minister of Finance, Asad Umar commented “This step by the OICCI will serve as a gamechanger to showcase the real opportunity for investment in Pakistan at an international stage. This initiative will help highlight the many existing success stories of foreign investment in Pakistan and shape the narrative for future investors.”
The OICCI President, Shazia Syed further highlighted, “The Pakistan Investment Conference will accelerate the pace of foreign investment in Pakistan. Through this platform, we intend to facilitate first hand interaction between potential investors and the Prime Minister. The dialogue will allow future investors to learn about the PM’s vision to enhance ease of doing business and enable a thriving business environment in the country. Our purpose is to break the stereotypes that shadow Pakistan’s perception as a business-friendly destination.”
The Chairman, Board of Investment Haroon Sharif, recognised the OICCI as a key partner in the promotion of foreign direct investment. He added, “Through this platform, BOI will collaborate with the OICCI to facilitate the entry of international investors into Pakistan whilst contributing towards the national economy.”
While speaking about the extensive differentiators that separate Pakistan from other countries as an increasingly attractive market, the OICCI Secretary General, M Abdul Aleem commented, “Pakistan with a large middle class, a young population of over 100 million, with a rapidly growing urban population is already one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world. The Investment Conference will further raise awareness about the investor friendly economic policies of the country and display a truly positive outlook based on the high returns on investment to many existing investors”.
The event will enable the PM and senior Government officials to interact with leading foreign investors, key opinion leaders, leading economists, the UK desk of PK media and International media to project a positive national narrative on the international stage. The intent of the Conference is to highlight the key policy measures in the pipeline to facilitate investment and make Pakistan a hub of foreign direct investment.
Established in 1860, the OICCI, is the largest Chamber of Commerce in Pakistan based on economic contribution in the form of taxes and investment by its members. It is the collective voice of top 200 foreign investors in Pakistan, including over 50 Fortune 500 companies, who contribute about one third of the total taxes collection in the country. Coming from 35 countries and working in 14 key sectors of the economy, OICCI members are leaders not only in economic activities and investment but are also thought leaders in transfer of technology and CSR activities. In 2017 OICCI members collectively invested US$ 2.7 Billion in Pakistan. “OICCI Women” initiative launched in 2017 in partnership with UN Women is the landmark initiative of OICCI towards empowering women in the corporate sector in Pakistan.
