LAHORE: Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has emphasised the need for significant progress towards Ease of Doing Business measures, especially in taxation and regulatory compliance.

“There is also a need to critically examine the need for a large number of regulatory bodies, in line with other similar economies as Pakistan appears to be an over-regulated economy, which discourages initiative and investment by local and foreign investors,” the chamber said on Tuesday in a letter to Federal Minister for Ministry of Privatisation and Board of Investment and Communication Abdul Aleem Khan.

OICCI is the collective body of Pakistan’s top 200 foreign investors from 30 countries, said the letter.

OICCI members contribute about one-third of the country’s tax revenue and are also the largest investors in Pakistan. In the last ten years, they have invested about $22 billion to expand their footprint in the country and transfer technical and managerial best practices.

“We offer valuable global insights to benefit Pakistan’s investment ecosystem. Once finalised, the results of the OICCI and McKinsey reports for a few selected sectors will be duly shared with the government of Pakistan,” it said.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2024