‘Investment to surge after finance bill approval’

Dawood emphasises Pakistan has several investment opportunities

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Trade, Textile and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has said that Pakistan offers several investment opportunities and after approval of the second supplementary finance bill, the pace of investment will accelerate and business activities will increase in the country.

“When Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf came to power, the economy was facing many challenges. In order to steer Pakistan out of the situation, the government adopted an effective strategy, which is bearing fruit,” the adviser said.

Speaking at the All Chambers Conference organised by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) on Wednesday, Dawood emphasised that the government was determined to promote trade, business and investment in the country.

“In the next few months, the economy will improve further and will be on the path of development,” he said. “At the same time, industrial development will pick up pace due to the measures taken by the government.”

The PM adviser pointed out that the Senate approved the second supplementary finance bill on Wednesday, which was aimed at promoting trade and business activities and enhancing investment.

Saying that the business community was playing a key role in the national economy, he asked businessmen to derive benefit from the measures taken by the government. He said the government had sought proposals from the businessmen for the revival of industries, which were being protected in a bid to give a push to exports from the country.

He revealed that free trade agreements with different countries, including Indonesia, were being reviewed, adding that tariff negotiations with China were entering final stages.

The adviser pointed out that Pakistan, being a responsible state, opted not to display any hostility in response to India’s withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status for Pakistan.

He added that the leadership was assessing the situation as India had increased customs duty to 200% on all Pakistani goods and commodities.

Dawood announced that the five-year National Tariff Policy would bring down tariffs on raw material and machinery imports for the export-based industries.

“The policy has been finalised in consultation with all stakeholders and it will soon be approved by the cabinet,” he remarked.

Disclosing that the PM had told the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to avoid unnecessary harassment of taxpayers, Dawood stressed that the government had taken a host of steps to improve the ease of doing business.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2019.

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