Under a USD 7bn IMF programme, Pakistan passed a Rs 18.77 trillion FY2026-27 budget that balances fiscal consolidation with development spending. SOE reform, roads, dams and water infrastructure, and a USD 1bn AI investment plan to 2030 are headline priorities.
What a Korean company can do now
- Korean support you can useDaanish IT Park construction support · Export-Import Bank of Korea (EDCF) / Korean government
- Promising business opportunityAI automation for tax document processing and taxpayer helpdesks
- Where the government is spendingFY2026-27 federal budget · Rs 18.77 trillion (approx. USD 67.5bn)
Government · leader
President Asif Ali Zardari / Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Key national agenda
- IMF programme compliance, revenue mobilisation and deficit control
- Rs 1 trillion federal PSDP for transport, energy and water
- AI and digital transformation (USD 1bn by 2030, AI training for 1m non-IT workers)
- SOE governance reform and debt management
- CPEC 2.0 and expansion of hydro, solar and wind power
- Border security and counter-terrorism
Government programmes
FY2026-27 federal budgetRs 18.77 trillion (approx. USD 67.5bn)
4% growth target, 8.2% inflation assumption, defence up about 18%
National development outlay (PSDP etc.)Rs 3.675 trillion
Federal PSDP Rs 1tr, provincial ADPs Rs 2.224tr, corporations Rs 451bn; CPEC 2.0 is the only new project
Transport infrastructureRs 365bn+
N-25 highway Rs 100bn, M-6 Sukkur-Hyderabad Rs 30bn, ML-1 railway financed by ADB
Energy and water infrastructureEnergy Rs 116.2bn + water Rs 103.1bn
Dasu, Tarbela and Diamer-Bhasha dams, nine solar/wind projects, Karachi K-IV water Rs 22bn
AI investment planUSD 1bn
1,000 AI PhD scholarships and AI training for 1m non-IT workers (announced Feb 2026)
Daanish IT Park (formerly Islamabad IT Park)
Built with Korean government and Korea Eximbank support; opened 9 Oct 2026 with the PM present to grow IT talent and exports
Business opportunities
AI automation for tax document processing and taxpayer helpdesks
🔒 Why-now and buyers — analysis member ₩19,800/mo
SOE performance management and management diagnostics
🔒 Why-now and buyers — analysis member ₩19,800/mo
Open this week
Practical AI courses for civil servants and IT workers
The government pledged AI training for 1m non-IT workers and a Korean-funded IT park just opened.
Ministry of IT, Daanish IT Park tenants, universities
Market-entry support for Korean consumer goods and SMEs
🔒 Why-now and buyers — analysis member ₩19,800/mo
Free members get a human-reviewed summary by email for up to 3 countries a month (sent within 24h). BUILD members get them all.
Korean support schemes
- Daanish IT Park construction support · Export-Import Bank of Korea (EDCF) / Korean government — The Islamabad IT park was built with Korean financing and opened on 9 Oct 2026.
- KOICA and KOPIA development cooperation · KOICA / KOPIA — Ongoing cooperation in IT, health, agriculture and food security.
- KOTRA Karachi industrial collaboration event · KOTRA — Hosted a Korea-Pakistan industrial collaboration event in Karachi (Apr 2025) on autos, medical devices and IT.
Official notices
Finance Division, Government of Pakistan
- 2026-10-05 FY2026 SOE biannual report published
- 2026-10-02 Amendment to the SOE Ownership and Management Policy 2023
- 2026-09-30 RFP for tax advisory services; September economic update and FY2026 debt review
- 2026-09-29 FY2027 annual borrowing plan and local-currency bond market strategy
Disaster · conflict · epidemic
High 2026-11-07
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Border clashes with Afghan forces continue in South Waziristan and Kurram (1 & 5 Nov, Pakistani media, party claim) · Militant attacks surge; 1,415 killed in Q3 (CRSS)
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