Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed authorities to prepare a roadmap for establishing a Private Equity Fund aimed at boosting investment, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and accelerating long-term economic growth.

Chairing a meeting on private investment and sustainable economic development, the prime minister instructed officials to submit a comprehensive plan for developing both the country’s public equity market and the proposed private equity fund.

He said the initiative would improve businesses’ access to capital and help attract greater foreign investment.

PM Shehbaz said private sector investment was critical to sustaining economic growth, adding that private equity funds could play a key role in mobilising capital, expanding businesses and creating jobs.

He said sectors including minerals, agriculture, livestock, energy and information technology (IT) had the potential to become major engines of economic growth, stressing that a stronger public equity market would help channel investment into these industries.

The prime minister also noted that financing from the banking sector remained limited, highlighting the need to develop alternative funding mechanisms to meet the country’s growing investment needs.

Reaffirming the government’s economic agenda, PM Shehbaz said Pakistan was focusing on private sector-led investment, industrial expansion and export growth to build a stronger and more sustainable economy.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar, and senior officials from relevant ministries and institutions.