Page 13 - CMA Journal (Mar-Apr 2026)

Pakistan offers a unique trifecta: abundant natural resources,
a young digital workforce, and a geostrategic position that Pakistan is today engaging the
no competitor can replicate. “ United States on a landmark

ICMA: Pakistan continues to experience uctuating FDI
and mixed capital in ows. What do these signals reveal critical minerals' partnership,
about investor con dence, and where does the core
challenge lie? while simultaneously, Gulf
investment ows under SIFC's
Jamil Ahmad Qureshi: FDI grew by 25% in FY2024, rose by
20% to $1.3 billion in the rst half of FY2025, and overall FDI facilitation have generated over
reached $1.618 billion with a 41% increase in the rst eight
months of FY2024-25. These are not the signals of a market $2.3 billion in managed
losing investor con dence; these are the signals of a market
in acceleration. investment in ows since SIFC's

The past uctuations re ect two realities: rst, Pakistan is in inception in June 2023 “
genuine economic transition, and second, the core
challenge is structural con dence, not market
fundamentals. Investors are watching whether policy Fourth, legal enforcement mechanisms for contractual
continuity will outlast electoral cycles, whether legal obligations and intellectual property rights require deeper
protections including contractual obligations and strengthening.
intellectual property rights will be consistently enforced, and
These are execution challenges, and execution is where SIFC
whether the regulatory environment will remain
concentrates its institutional energy. SIFC has achieved a
predictable.
signi cant reduction in project approval duration. The
The SIFC's establishment of a single window interface, trajectory from a two-year approval timeline toward
something far more competitive is measurable.
supported at the highest civil military levels, is a direct
institutional response to these concerns. The core challenge ICMA: As global investors increasingly prioritise
is institutional credibility, and that is precisely what SIFC was
resilience, stability, and diversi cation, how is Pakistan
designed to build.
adapting its investment offering to match these evolving
priorities?
ICMA: Despite strong investor interest and multiple
commitments, actual investment realization remains Jamil Ahmad Qureshi: Pakistan is adapting across three
limited. What are the key structural bottlenecks behind dimensions.
this gap?
1) Supply chain resilience: Our mineral wealth, particularly
copper, lithium, and rare earth elements in Balochistan,
Jamil Ahmad Qureshi: The gap between commitments and
realization is the de ning challenge SIFC was born to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan, positions
Pakistan as a strategic resource hub. It is driving active
address. Prior to SIFC, a single factory project required
approvals from multiple departments, each capable of engagement from the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and
multilateral nanciers simultaneously.
consuming months, and the entire process could stretch
beyond two years. Four structural bottlenecks persists:
2) Macroeconomic stability: The IMF programme provides
an international credibility anchor. Economic indicators
First, overlapping jurisdictions between federal and
now collectively signal that Pakistan's macro
provincial governments, particularly relevant in mineral rich
stabilisation is durable rather than temporary.
Balochistan, create approval ambiguities.
3) Investment ecosystem diversi cation: The SIFC's
Second, the regulatory architecture has not yet been fully
mandate spans defence production, agriculture, IT,
digitised. BOI is speci cally working with the World Bank (B- mining, energy, nancial services, and others. For
ready index) and Remit to address it.
investors seeking both stability and the growth
premium of an emerging market, Pakistan offers a rare
Third, energy tariffs and taxation burdens undermine project
combination: a 240-million-person domestic market, a
economics after initial commitments.

11 ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Mar-Apr 2026