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Review of Investment Policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Scope of Work Summary:

With an increased focus of Government on boosting investments within Pakistan, specifically in light of the ongoing China Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative, it is not only important but also necessary for provinces to identify key impediments that are impeding foreign and local investment and take measures to address those hurdles. In light of this significance, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recently developed an Investment Policy for the province. This assignment will focus on reviewing the Investment Policy, identifying gaps and making recommendations for improvement, with a special focus on SMEs.

1.       Positions:

The proposed team composition for this assignment will include the following;

-     Institutional Expert

-     Economist

 

2.       General Summary:

The Pakistan Small and Medium Enterprise Activity (SMEA) project is aimed at improvement of financial and operating performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan in selected high-performing industrial, manufacturing and services sectors. 

Creating an enabling business environment is one of the core work streams of this project. As such, the Project engaged with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the Government of Punjab to identify key areas of collaboration. The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has already drafted an Investment Policy for the Province and it has requested SMEA to review the policy and provide recommendations for improvement.

Investment is central to economic growth, driving job creation and boosting an economy’s productive capacity and income growth. International investment in particular is also useful as a source of technology transfer. Yet, net inflows of FDI in Pakistan have declined steadily over the last ten years. Measured as a percentage of GDP, FDI is now well below the average for both South Asia and for lower-middle income countries.

The investment expected under the ongoing China Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative should contribute towards reversing that trend. However, it will be important to have in place a good investment policy framework to ensure that investments that promote economic growth, technology transfer and domestic employment are encouraged, but that negative spillovers such as environmental degradation are kept at bay.

This requires building a competitive environment for investment, an enabling regulatory structure, and an attractive set of incentives. This can be done through several integrated policy arms including investment policy, investment promotion and facilitation, trade policy, competition policy, tax policy, public governance and financing for investment. The assignment will focus on providing advice on the policy arms and levers that are in the domain of the Government of Punjab. Additionally, the focus of the assignment is on facilitating investment in the SME sector especially by mobilizing domestic investors.

The recommendations will support and be informed by KP’s objectives and priorities, as specified in the KP Integrated Growth Strategy 2014-2018. This analysis based on KP’s strengths and constraints will be complementary to Federal investment policy.

 

3.       Objective of the Consultancy:

To review the Investment Policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and identify gaps (if any) and provide recommendations for improvement in light of the policy, regulatory and institutional arrangements, with a special focus on SMEs.

 

4.       Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

  • To review the Investment Policy drafted by the Government of KP.
  • Hold meetings (as needed) with key public and private sector players in KP regarding investment promotion opportunities, issues & challenges, specifically focusing on SMEs.
  • To analyze and recommend investment initiative for Pakistani diaspora.
  • To analyze and identify improvements through investment policy revisions wherever necessary and areas of legislative, regulatory and/or institutional reform required for a more efficient mechanism of policy implementation
  • To propose measures of promoting investments including incentives structure, if any.

 

5.       Specific Tasks of the Consultants:

The purpose of this assignment is to identify key impediments to investments in KP and undertake assessment of the existing investment policy framework and provide recommendations. The consultants will also benchmark the existing investment policies with those of major competitor economies by sector and/or region and provide best practice guidelines for sustainable investment policy formulation.

Specific tasks required are:

  • A comprehensive review and assessment of the investment policies of KP, including applicable national investment policies.
  • An objective evaluation and advisory review of the regulatory framework for investment.
  • A review of KP’s institutional framework for investment, to ensure consistency of policies, procedures and the identification of policy gaps;
  • Draft a final report that documents the findings and make recommendations.

6. Job Qualifications

Advisor

Person Specifications

 

TOTAL

Level of Effort

Institutional Expert

Masters degree in Public Policy, Law, Public Administration from a university of repute

At least 10 years of experience working in development issues

Deep knowledge and understanding of the national, provincial, local regulatory, legal and policy environment pertaining to the SMEs

A sound understanding of issues related to the role investment plays in the economy, particularly is a developing country context

Knowledge of investment policies in Pakistan and Punjab, as well as best practice

Previous experience of working with USAID projects in the area of economic growth will be preferred

Experience of working with donor projects in the SME space

Excellent communication and report writing skills

 

7 days

Economist

Masters degree in Business, Economics, Management, Public Policy from a university of repute

At least 5 years of experience in undertaking research on industrial development in Pakistan

Good understanding of the current business environment, macro-economic framework and the corresponding institutional arrangements at the federal and provincial levels

Deep understanding of the investment climate in Pakistan and Punjab and of the investment policies and incentives

Good understanding of the constraints faced by the SMEs at the federal and provincial levels

Previous experience of working with USAID projects in the area of economic growth will be preferred

Experience of working with donor projects in the SME space

Excellent communication and report writing skills

7 days

 

6.       Duty Station:

The consultants will be based in Islamabad/Peshawar and will be working closely with the BEE team.

 7.       Workspace and Use of Personal Laptop and Software(s):

The consultants will be required to use their own personal laptops and must certify that all software used are genuine and licensed. 

8.       Reporting:

The work of the consultants will be supervised by the Senior Policy Advisor along with the BEE team. The consultants will be required to report to the Senior Policy Advisor and/or his designee.

 

9.       Duration of the Assignment:

This job is planned to take place as per a start date of on or around March 28, 2018 and end date of on or around April 30, 2018 (subject to date of mobilization) hereto for a total of 7 person days level-of-effort (LOE) each (for Institutional Expert and Economist), including 3 travel days, if needed. The TOTAL LOE will be spread over a month.

 

10.    Deliverables:

The following are the key deliverables and their associated deadlines. The final deliverable of this assignment is the Review Report. The timeline for the LOE assigned for each activity as mentioned in the following table will be discussed and agreed with the technical team and the consultant.

 

No.

Activity

LOE (Days)

1

Interview and meet with the Senior Policy Advisor & BEE Team to understand the scope of the assignment.

1

2

Meetings and discussion with relevant Government Departments in KP to develop institutional understanding

3

3

Preliminary Findings

 1

4

Regulatory Review

Within 1st week

5

Review Report

April  25, 2018

 

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