LAHORE: Punjab Finance Minister Dr. Ayesha Ghous Pasha has lauded efforts of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) for preparing a reform agenda in respect of ease of doing business in Pakistan.
While talking to the LCCI Senior Vice President Almas Hyder here at her office, Dr. Ayesha Ghous Pasha said that the LCCI is supplementing the government efforts aimed at economic revival of the country. She said that Government of Punjab, in collaboration with World Bank, is in the process of making economic reforms in the province.
The minister also threw light on the economic growth of the country and shared many economic milestones achieved by the Punjab government.
She informed the LCCI senior vice president that because of untiring efforts of the Punjab government, province is rapidly turning into a hub of the investment, trade and economic activities and became top priority of the foreign investors.
LCCI Senior Vice President Almas Hyder said that the objective of preparing report on ease of doing business in Pakistan is to identify the hurdles coming in the way of businesses and to suggest feasible solutions to the government.
He said that the economic signals are not as good as being portrayed. A recent report has revealed that Pakistan has further slipped down as far as ease of doing business is concerned.
He said that cost of doing business is one of the major hurdles hampering the growth of all sectors of economy whether it is manufacturing or agriculture. He said that Pakistani merchandise are best of the best in the world but fast losing their due place in the international market because of high input cost in Pakistan. He said that proposals would also be incorporated in the LCCI report on “Doing Business in Pakistan” as to how costs could be curtailed in Pakistan without any loss to the revenue.
Almas Hyder invited the attention of the government towards depleting water resources that could put the country’s growth at stake in the coming years. He said that government should focus on water and energy issues on priority basis and allocate as much as possible funds for water reservoirs to ensure water availability for the agriculture sector and to generate cheap hydel power.
He said that all sectors of economy would be covered in the LCCI report on “Doing Business in Pakistan”. He said that report would be presented to the Prime Minister and the government departments for evolving an action plan.
He said that business community is the backbone of the economy as more than 90% revenue is being generated through trade and industry. Therefore, the businessmen should be given due facilitation and for the purpose the LCCI would continue to play its role proactively.
He said that Federal Board of Revenue would not be able to achieve its revenue target without providing a business friendly atmosphere to the business doing people.
He said that during their meetings with a number of trade and industry associations, they came across quite a few issues that could be resolved only through facilitation to the business community.
He said that the Lahore Chamber had already appealed to the government for the simplification of taxation procedures and expansion in the tax net.
