SIFC or Special Investment Facilitation Council is a unique investment promotion initiative in Pakistan.
Special Investment Facilitation Council is a jointly managed administrative structure by the civilian government and Pakistan Army. Generally, the business community and investors face several impediments in launching their business in Pakistan. These include bureaucratic hurdles, red tape issues, investment protection and several similar challenges. The Government of Pakistan identified these as serious obstacles for assisting the foreign investors.
Government of Pakistan launched SIFC with both the Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff as its leadership. SIFC is maintained in the Prime Minister’s Office with presence of senior military officers to ensure timely completion of projects, support to foreign investors and help in resolving any administrative challenges in any area of Pakistan.
There are several investment opportunities through SIFC. The main sectors include Agriculture & Livestock, IT & Telecom, Mines & Minerals, Petroleum & Power and Industry & Tourism. Moreover, the foreign investors can also seek interest in other projects in coordination with SIFC. Most importantly, the SIFC also handles the privatization of several public sector companies and businesses. This includes Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan Steels Mill, etc.
Through SIFC, the country is seeking attention to Pakistan’s agriculture, livestock, and afforestation sectors. Pakistan is set to transform its agriculture landscape by transitioning from traditional micro farming culture towards high-tech, high-yield and low-cost community-based Modernized Corporate Farming. It offers a huge corporate farming opportunities to businesses, especially the Arab Countries.
Moreover, it does not only include government or large investment projects. It also offers opportunities to small scale investments from individual businessmen. Thus, the SIFC offers an unmatched opportunity towards conducting business in Pakistan with investment protection directly from the State of Pakistan.
