LAHORE: Former federal finance minister and chairman Burki Institute of Public Policy Shahid Javed Burki said on Monday that Pakistan needs to focus on promotion of regional trade to ensure economic growth.
He was speaking at a meeting at Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) President Mian Nauman Kabir, Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and Vice President Haris Ateeq and the business community here at the LCCI.
Shahid Burki said that among the neighbouring countries, China is most eager to help Pakistan and “we should take advantage of this”. He said that Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should work together for socioeconomic development in the region and for eradication of poverty.
“There is dire need to improve soft image of the country in the world, ” he said and lamented that various Pakistanis abroad speak against their own country.
Shahid Burki said that Pakistani women have a lot of potential and the attention should be paid to the development of women entrepreneurship in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan should focus on value addition in agriculture sector. He said that Gwadar is the most important port in the region and would play a vital role in economic development of the country.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir spelled out the challenges that needed to be addressed to achieve the desired pace of economic growth.
He said that the lack of stability in the exchange rate market is a huge concern for business community as industrial sector is dependent on imports of raw materials and machinery. The massive devaluation in the recent years has increased the cost of doing business.
Mian Nauman that inflation rate is also high, adding that due to ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the global oil prices have skyrocketed and surpassed 100 dollars per barrel while the commodity prices have also increased.
While talking about the monetary policy, Mian Nauman said that the Monetary Policy should support Industrialization. Unfortunately in the past, the previous governments used the policy of increasing the interest rates to control inflation. Instead of curbing inflation, it resulted in rapid de-Industrialization and hindered the private sector growth.
The LCCI President added that the access to finance is a persistent challenge for private sector. The SMEs in Pakistan only get 6.5 percent of the private sector credit while the number of SME borrowers is only around 164, 000. The commercial banks in the country should be obligated to create more financial space for the SMEs.
Mian Nauman Kabir said that the losses of the State Owned Enterprises are a big stumbling block in the economic development of Pakistan. The outstanding debt of public sector enterprises according to the State Bank data stood at above Rs 1.5 trillion in December 2021.The privatization process of the State Owned Enterprises should be expedited.
He said that the government has announced another amnesty scheme to attract investment in the industrial sector in Pakistan. He said that successive governments in the past have failed to expand the tax base which is still around three million taxpayers. As a result, the existing taxpayers are always squeezed badly in the government’s efforts to increase tax revenues.
LCCI Vice President Haris Ateeq called for a National Economic Policy to cope with economic challenges, saying that all segments should be on one page on this issue. He said that all the stakeholders must be taken on board while formulating the National Economic Policy.
Former President Sohail Lashari, former SVP Kashif Younas Mehar, EC Members Abdul Wadood Alvi, Ahmad Elahi and Malik Riaz Iqbal were also present.