LAHORE:Renowned industrialist and banker Mian Muhammad Mansha said on Wednesday that progressive market-oriented policies, based on modern methods, were the key to success.
From price controls to capital market operations, reducing trade barriers and minimising state influence in the economy, especially through privatisation and austerity, Pakistan could truly achieve rapid growth, he added.
He expressed these views while addressing a meeting with business community here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI).
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir delivered the welcome address, while Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan, Vice President Haris Ateeq, Chief Executive Officer Service Group Chaudhry Arif Saeed, former presidents Sohail Lashari, Almas Haider, former senior vice president Amjad Ali Java, former vice presidents Zeeshan Khalil, Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, executive committee members of Lahore Chamber also spoke.
Mian Mohammad Mansha said that privatisation helped promote various sectors of the economy. “We have the example of telecom sector, where privatisation made it possible for everyone to have access to everything from telephone to cheap calls,” he added.
He said that the good deeds of the state should be appreciated. “It is good that motorways were built in the country, development work was done expeditiously but, at the same time, the state should also focus on those sectors on which billions of rupees are being lost annually,” he added.
He said that privatisation of airports, along with Pakistan International Airlines, would also increase their efficiency and this sector would become cheaper as well as standard. Similarly, the railways, which was a lucrative business during British rule, has now become a burden on the state. One of the reasons for the high cost of electricity is state intervention.
Mian Mansha added that the no importance of water in Pakistan is because of its free provision. He emphasised the importance of improving relations with the countries of the region and said that one of the reasons for Europe’s development was its softening of borders with each other and promotion of bilateral trade.
He said that in order to increase the tax net, tax rates would have to be reduced. When the tax rate was reduced in Russia, the tax net doubled, he added.
He said “we have to eradicate poverty, and that all things that are putting a brake on the state should be privatised”.
He said that in no other country in the world gas was supplied through pipes and resources were not wasted on such a large scale. He said that the system was a burden on the state and major changes were needed in the basic structure of the bureaucracy.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir congratulated Mian Muhammad Mansha on his appointment as chairman of the Advisory Council of the British Asian Trust in Pakistan and said, “We all are witness to your illustrious career, extraordinary achievements as an entrepreneur and one of the most successful Pakistani businessmen who have left a lasting footprint across Pakistan”.
The LCCI senior vice president raised questions regarding the low trend of manufacturing of FMCG products in the local sector of Pakistan and said that big business people of Pakistan should take full part in the education sector. He requested Mian Mansha to maintain regular liaison with the Lahore Chamber and to form a working group so that the Lahore Chamber and the business community could receive permanent guidance.
The LCCI vice president welcomed Mian Mansha at the Lahore Chamber.