Pakistan launches investor portal to track requests online

Dubai: UAE-based Pakistanis exploring a business investment back home have a new channel for contacting Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). The council has launched a digital Ticketing Hub where investors can submit queries and requests, then track how their cases progress.

The portal brings investor requests into one system so they can be followed through different stages and passed to the relevant government institutions. SIFC says the aim is to make follow-up more organised and give applicants a clearer view of their request’s status.

“Through this digital mechanism, SIFC is improving the organization and management of investor-related requests while facilitating more effective coordination with relevant government institutions,” the council said in a statement.

An investor can raise a question, submit a request and monitor its progress through the Ticketing Hub. The system is designed to record the request from its initial submission through later stages of engagement, according to SIFC’s statement.

For someone based in the UAE, that could make it easier to keep track of an enquiry sent to SIFC without relying solely on separate exchanges with different offices. The published announcement does not set out eligibility rules for individual investors, response deadlines or a list of services that can be completed entirely online. It also does not say that submitting a ticket amounts to investment approval.

“The system provides a clear and structured workflow for handling queries, helping ensure that investor concerns are appropriately communicated and followed up through the relevant channels,” SIFC said.

The Ticketing Hub has a registration option as well as a login page. Investors considering using it can first identify the project or issue they want to raise and the specific response they need from SIFC.

Pakistan established SIFC in 2023 to attract investment into sectors including agriculture, minerals and tourism. The new portal addresses one part of that effort: how investor enquiries are received, directed and followed up. It does not, on its own, indicate how many projects will secure funding.

The distinction matters as Pakistan seeks to turn investment discussions into completed projects. Jamil Qureshi, Secretary of SIFC, told a National Assembly committee that the council had developed an investment pipeline of approximately $40 billion across sectors including industry, oil and gas, transport, power, telecoms, IT, pharmaceuticals, tourism and agriculture. A pipeline represents potential projects; it is not the same as investment already received.

Qureshi also told the committee that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed officials to pursue stalled and delayed projects involving the UAE and other countries. The report did not identify those UAE-linked projects or provide a timetable for their implementation.

For UAE-based Pakistanis, the immediate change is a way to lodge and track an investment-related request. Whether it speeds up a particular project will depend on the response and the steps required after the enquiry reaches the relevant authorities.