Haroon Sharif appointed BoI chairman

ISLAMABAD - The federal cabinet approved the appointment of Haroon Sharif as chairman Board of Investment (BoI) on Thursday.

Minister for Information Chaudhry Fawad Hussain confirmed that the cabinet approved the induction of Sharif as the BoI chairperson. The body is required to assist local and international investors and helps them build joint ventures in the country for the promotion of local and foreign direct investment (FDI).

He replaces Naeem Zamindar who was appointed by the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government in November 2017 from the private sector. Zamindar, who is a relative of Tehmina Durrani, the wife of former chief minister Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif resigned in June this year.

Haroon Sharif is a well-known global expert of economic policy, international development, economic diplomacy and financial markets.

He worked as the Regional Advisor to the World Bank Group for promoting economic cooperation in South and Central Asia and was involved in the execution of CASA-1000 and Islamabad-Kabul-Dushanbe Expressway.

Haroon is currently a senior fellow of the British Council for promoting regional knowledge and leadership networks between the UK and Pakistan as well as a visiting fellow at the top-notch National Defence University (NDU).

He previously headed the Economic Growth Group at UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) for ten years, managing a portfolio of 500 million pounds.

Sharif also had a three-year stint as the Executive Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

Haroon holds postgraduate qualifications in international business and development economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science as well as the University of Hawaii, USA.

The BOI chief thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for the appointment.

Extremely grateful for Allah's kind blessings for having the opportunity to serve Pakistan as Chairman, Board of Investment. My special thanks to Prime Minister Imran Khan and cabinet colleagues for their trust in my abilities. https://t.co/aQKY8qIBB9

— Haroon Sharif (@SharifHaroon) September 13, 2018