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ISLAMABAD, Sep 27 (Reuters) Pakistan plans to allow foreign insurance companies to hold 100 percent equity in an investment, almost double the amount currently allowed, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

Under the existing rules, foreign companies can hold up to 51 percent equity.

''It's a major development to attract foreign direct investment,'' Ashfaque Hasan Khan, an advisor to the prime minister, told reporters after a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee, the country's top-decision making body on economic issues.

''The decision is applicable with immediate effect after ECC approval.'' Foreign direct investment in Pakistan amounted to $3.52 billion in 2005-2006, up from $322 million in 2000-2001.

REUTERS DKS PM1913