VEON has increased its planned Pakistan investment to $1.5 billion over three years, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday. The revised commitment adds $500 million to the global digital operator’s earlier $1 billion plan, a 50 percent increase.
“This is a significant jump,” Aurangzeb said during a virtual address at the SDGs Investment Fair 2026, organised by UNDP Pakistan.
VEON’s original plan focused on expanding connectivity, modernising infrastructure and accelerating digital services. The minister presented the increase as evidence of foreign investor interest as Pakistan seeks greater private-sector participation.
The company’s recent disclosures provide further context for its expansion. VEON reported that Jazz acquired 190 MHz of spectrum for $239.5 million in Pakistan’s March 2026 auction. It subsequently raised its capital expenditure outlook to support network investment following the spectrum purchase.
Aurangzeb also highlighted foreign interest in privatisation. He said three Turkish companies had expressed interest in the first electricity distribution company on offer.
“We have the basic hygiene, which is being recognised at the local and international level,” he said, referring to macroeconomic stability.
Domestic capital markets also featured prominently in his address.
Aurangzeb said the Pakistan Stock Exchange recorded 11 initial public offerings during the previous fiscal year, its highest number in two decades. Five more IPOs followed in the latest quarter.
He said Khaadi was preparing an IPO. Around 22 real estate investment trusts could also list over the next couple of years.
“When someone is raising equity on the stock exchange, they’re obviously looking to either invest, expand their local commercial operations or set up new units,” he said.
The finance minister linked these developments to improvements in Pakistan’s fiscal and external position.
He said the twin deficits had narrowed from 12.5 percent of GDP a few years ago to approximately 2.6 percent by end-June. He also cited a 22-year-low fiscal deficit and three consecutive years of primary surpluses.
Aurangzeb said State Bank foreign exchange reserves had reached $21.4 billion a few weeks earlier, describing the level as a record. That provided almost three months of import cover, compared with roughly two weeks when the stabilisation programme began.
He projected four percent economic growth this fiscal year, contrasting the outlook with contraction three years earlier. However, he stressed that expansion must remain sustainable.
“We want to move towards growth, but it has to be responsible growth because we want to avoid the boom-and-bust cycles as we go forward,” he said.
The two-day investment fair showcased around 35 investment-ready public-private partnership projects, according to Associated Press of Pakistan. These covered transport, energy, climate, agriculture, water, urban development, tourism, industry and technology.
The projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, placing the investment announcement within a broader effort to attract development financing.
