Efforts for improving ease of doing business

Fresh efforts for the long-awaited and elusive reforms to ease the cost of doing business and making investments were recently mounted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “Acknowledging that simplifying and rationalising regulations to reduce bureaucratic red tape and compliance costs is a substantial challenge,” former president of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation explained. However, with strategic action, this is a challenge that can be overcome. “The issue of the cost of doing business”, he says, “requires a concerted effort both from the public and private sectors. Over time, sustained high costs can lead to stagnation.”