By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting in Islamabad on Monday to review measures aimed at promoting private investment and ensuring sustainable economic growth, directing officials to prepare an early action plan for establishing a private equity fund to support investment and strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises.
The prime minister instructed the relevant authorities to submit a comprehensive roadmap for developing both the public equity market and a private equity fund. He said the proposed framework should expand investment opportunities within the country, improve access to financing for businesses and create conditions that would attract greater foreign investment.
During the meeting, Shehbaz said private investment remained central to Pakistan’s long-term economic development and that the government wanted to create an environment where domestic and international investors could participate with greater confidence.
He said Pakistan possessed significant untapped potential in several sectors, including minerals, agriculture, livestock, energy and information technology, adding that these industries could become major engines of economic growth if supported by sustained investment and appropriate financial mechanisms.
The prime minister observed that the public equity market could also play a stronger role in mobilizing investment for these sectors. He noted that financing from the banking sector alone remained insufficient to meet the country’s growing investment requirements, making the development of alternative sources of capital increasingly important.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar and senior officials from the relevant institutions attended the meeting.
