Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that the planned VEON investment in Pakistan has been raised from $1 billion to $1.5 billion over three years. Speaking virtually, he told the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Investment Fair 2026, held in Karachi and organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan, about the change, Digital Pakistan reported. The further $500 million is a 50 percent rise on the plan named earlier this year.
He treated that addition as a significant increase. The $1.5 billion total remains tied to VEON’s own investment programme and to the way the company puts it into practice.
Where the money is meant to go
The $1 billion plan unveiled earlier this year was framed around wider connectivity, newer infrastructure and digital innovation across Pakistan. The larger figure extends that same effort. Aurangzeb linked the step-up to ongoing interest from overseas investors, as the government tries to bring in foreign investment in Pakistan and give private business a wider role, the report said.
The account does not divide the extra $500 million into named projects. It records the scale of a three-year commitment.
Jazz, the local operator
VEON reaches Pakistani customers through Jazz, its telecommunications and digital-services business. Jazz has been funding network infrastructure and digital products while connectivity spreads and the digital economy grows. For people who use Jazz, that is the part of the plan that sits behind calls, data and other digital services.
The fair speech gave no timetable for particular builds or launches. Any change in service follows how VEON and Jazz carry the programme through.
Listings and a first privatisation asset
The minister used the same address to cover privatisation and the equity market. Three Turkish companies, he said, have expressed interest in the first distribution company offered in the programme. He also said 11 initial public offerings (IPOs), a firm’s first public sale of shares, were completed in the previous fiscal year, along with five IPOs in the last quarter.
Khaadi is preparing an IPO, he added, and around 22 real estate investment trusts (REITs), vehicles that pool money into property, are expected to list over the next couple of years. Companies raising money on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, in his account, generally want that capital so they can invest, expand operations they already run, or start new units.
How firm the $1.5 billion figure is
The VEON investment in Pakistan, now put at $1.5 billion over three years, stays subject to the company’s programme and implementation. The remarks sit inside a wider government push for private investment and international capital. The fair report records the Karachi event as the place where Aurangzeb set out the higher figure.
