Foreign investors urged Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday to address approximately Rs103 billion in pending tax refunds and ensure predictable policies. The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) raised the demands during his visit to its Karachi headquarters on October 1. Senior chamber officials and leading foreign investors discussed how Pakistan could convert macroeconomic stability into investment, exports and employment.
OICCI acknowledged the economic turnaround but said investment had yet to follow. According to the chamber, net foreign direct investment fell roughly 34% to $1.7 billion in FY26.
“Stabilisation was the first step, not the destination,” said Aurangzeb, the federal minister for finance and revenue.
“Our task now is to turn it into investment, exports and jobs, and that means hearing directly from investors about what still stands in the way.”
Tax refunds top investors’ concerns
Members sought a time-bound mechanism to pay or formally dispose of verified income- and sales-tax refund claims. The outstanding amount was their principal concern during the meeting.
They also called for rationalising withholding taxes and sector-specific levies. Separately, they proposed medium-term fiscal and tax frameworks developed through consultation with industry.
Investors urged the government to gradually reduce borrowing from commercial banks, freeing up credit for private businesses.
“Pakistan has done the hard part of stabilising its economy. The test now is whether that shows up in reinvestment and new FDI,” said OICCI President Umar Ahsan Khan.
“Clearing pending tax refunds and giving investors predictable tax policy would be the quickest way to show that it does.”
The meeting followed Khan’s election as OICCI president for 2026–28. He also serves as chief executive and managing director of Dawlance.
Chamber presses for structural reforms
Beyond immediate tax concerns, OICCI urged reform and privatisation of state-owned enterprises. It also sought a solution to power-sector circular debt.
Members called for broader taxation of agriculture, real estate, retail trade and small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Our members are not asking for favours; they are asking for predictability,” said OICCI Secretary General M. Abdul Aleem.
“Stability gave us a foundation. Structural reform, and a consultative process that outlasts any one budget, will decide whether capital stays and grows.”
The proposals linked immediate investor concerns with longer-term changes to taxation, public-sector businesses and access to finance.
External ties offer investment opportunities
OICCI also highlighted Pakistan’s improving relationships with the United States, Gulf countries and China. It urged policymakers to translate those relationships into greater trade, investment and export opportunities.
Former OICCI president Yousaf Hussain attended the meeting. Aurangzeb presented him with a souvenir on the occasion.
The chamber represents about 200 member companies from more than 30 countries. According to OICCI, its members contribute one-third of Pakistan’s total revenue collection.
Those companies have also reinvested more than $23 billion over the past decade, underlining their existing stake in Pakistan’s economy.
