President Alvi assures business community of support

Arif Alvi says reviving Pakistan’s economy is PTI govt's topmost priority

KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is striving to revive the country’s economy, which is the topmost priority right now and results will emerge soon, said President Arif Alvi on Tuesday.

Talking to a delegation of businessmen in Karachi, the president said the government was taking feasible steps to ensure a business and investment-friendly environment as it was imperative for economic progress and prosperity of the country.

Alvi urged industrialists and businessmen to focus on export-oriented products as an increase in exports was essential for economic stability. He said the country had been facing numerous challenges for the past few years, which also affected the business community across the country.

He appreciated the services rendered by the business community for the country’s development and voiced hope that they would continue to play a proactive role in order to further uplift the economy.

The businessmen delegation apprised the president of the functioning of different chambers and gave recommendations for improving economic structure and business environment in the country. In response, the president assured the delegation of his full support.

At least 12 representatives of different industries including plastic, tyre, textile and readymade garment manufacturers as well as stock exchange met President Arif Alvi at the Sindh Governor House.

The business community suggested 1-1.5% tax rates for the proposed amnesty scheme. They stressed that the amnesty scheme should be free from complexities so that more and more people could opt for the scheme and the government could be able to bring greater number of people and money into the tax net.

If the government imposed a higher tax in the amnesty scheme, it would not be able to achieve the target, said the businessmen, adding that they were also worried about the current economic situation in the country.

Despite massive rupee depreciation, the country did not achieve any progress in terms of exports, they said. The high interest rate of 10.75% should be controlled, otherwise it would discourage investment in export-focused industries, which would further hinder growth in exports, the businessmen added.

The business community also presented to the president budget proposals for upcoming fiscal year 2019-20. (With additional input from our correspondent) 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2019.

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