Govt to take measures to encourage investment in Pakistan: Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar on Sunday assured that the government would take measures to encourage investment in Pakistan, ARY News reported.

The finance minister made these remarks during a meeting with a delegation of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and Mutual Funds Association (MFA) of Pakistan.

The PSX was represented by its MD/CEO Farrukh Hussain and Chief Financial Officer Ahmed Ali whereas Mir Adil and Arif Qadri represented Mutual Funds, said a press release issued here Sunday.

Ishaq Dar was accompanied by Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Minister of State for Finance, Tariq Bajwa, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Finance, Tariq Mehmood Pasha, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue, Ashfaq Tola Chairman Reforms and others.

During the meeting, representatives of MFA highlighted the growth of Sharia-compliant mutual funds and proposed that short-term Sharia-compliant sukuk should be launched.

They also proposed certain measures to be taken in the upcoming budget to promote mutual funds. Representatives of PSX highlighted the erosion of market capitalization over the last six years.

They said that the stock market was a highly documented segment and a major contributor to the national exchequer. They gave certain proposals to encourage people to invest in the stock market.

Ishaq Dar noted that PSX was at one time one of the best performing stock markets and assured the group that their concerns would be addressed and measures would be taken to encourage investment in Pakistan.

He hoped that PSX would reverse the trend and once again become one of the top performing stock markets in the region.