Investment opportunities: ‘Punjab govt no help to IT sector’

CEO of IT firm says previous administration did much more for them.


Express April 10, 2011

LAHORE:


Speakers at the Investment Opportunities Conference on Saturday accused the Punjab government of doing nothing to help various industries, especially the Information Technology sector.


The speakers also voiced concern over the growing shortage of electricity and natural gas and the lack of a conducive environment for business. They said the government was not taking any serious steps to overcome the energy crisis, which was badly hurting the economy.

The conference was organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) as part of the Lahore Shopping Festival (LSF) at the Expo Centre. The audience was largely made up of businesspeople and students.

Salim Ghauri, chairman and CEO of NetSol Technologies, said that the current government had taken no practical step to help the IT industry. He said that the previous government had taken many initiatives for the industry, but there had been “zero progress” in the sector over the last five years.

One example of the government’s incompetence, he said, was its failure to computerise the land record because of resistance from the bureaucracy. He said that lack of security put off foreign investors, but Pakistani companies had no choice but to work in this challenging environment.

Ghauri said that the IT industry was contributing $1 billion (Rs84.86 billion) annually to the national economy and he was hopeful that it would contribute five times that amount in five years.

“If the government provides us with some facilities then we might generate even more revenue yearly,” he added.

Senator Ishaq Dar, the chief guest at the conference, said that the energy shortage was often touted as the biggest threat but the real danger to the economy came from the loans the government was taking from various financial institutions.

He said that if the situation continued, it would be very hard to put the economy back on track. He said that the Punjab government would do its best to facilitate the business community.

LCCI president Shahzad Ali Malik said that the aim of organising the conference was to give the business community greater confidence, as well as promote business and cultural activities in Lahore. He said that such platforms also encouraged interest in the Pakistani market and its products in countries abroad, “but only if we as a community keep organising such conference and events”.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2011.

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