Pakistan, IFC eye wider private-sector financing, investment

Mettis Link News reported that Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) discussed ways to expand private-sector funding and investment. Talks centred on entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises, farm finance, housing that buyers can afford, and partnerships between government and private players. Aurangzeb said Pakistan's steadier economy and rising investor trust should now lead to greater investment and a stronger role for the private sector.

The IFC gave the minister an update on progress toward a fund for entrepreneurs, being set up with relevant stakeholders to deepen the start-up ecosystem. On housing, the sides looked at developer financing models intended to ease supply-side constraints. For agriculture, the IFC's AgriConnect initiative was examined as a way to draw in private money through better storage and electronic warehouse receipts used as collateral.

Water and power projects in the provinces were also covered, with the IFC updating the minister on work with provincial governments on water quality, safety and metering across distribution companies. The parties said such partnerships could improve service delivery, cut losses and bring private capital into infrastructure. Both sides pledged closer cooperation on finance, investment and infrastructure, while Aurangzeb called for international development funds to complement domestic resources.