Incentives to industries aimed at wealth creation: PM

Premier says govt focusing on increasing country’s farm productivity

KARACHI:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said his government had incentivised the industrial sector as wealth creation, which was mandatory for repayment of debts, was not possible without industrialisation in the country.

“The government is primarily focused on the ease of doing business in the country,” the premier remarked while addressing as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony of Engro Polymer and Chemicals PVC-III at the Governor’s House in Karachi.

“With the passage of time, the country’s population has also increased, causing a growing demand of resources,” he noted.

“The country is compelled to import even those items, which were never imported before.”

He said the present government, keeping this situation in view, was focusing on increasing the country’s agricultural productivity.

The premier expressed his gratitude that after a long period of time, the country had witnessed a tremendous performance in the farm sector this year.

He added that China’s assistance was being sought under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project for the growth of country’s agricultural sector.

“In the 60s, Pakistan was progressing rapidly. Unfortunately, the country’s industrial sector has been neglected during the tenures of previous governments.”

The prime minister claimed that if exports had been incentivised in the past, the country would not have faced an economic crisis.

“The country’s exports have witnessed a tremendous and historical growth during the tenure of the current government.”

PM Imran said the government was also working on reducing imports by paying attention to their substitution in the country.

He regretted that as the country’s economy started growing, pressure grew on the current account, compelling the government to approach the international Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar, Opposition Leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh, MPAs, prominent businessmen and senior officers of Engro attended the ceremony.

In June this year, then finance minister Shaukat Tarin  had said the federal budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022 focused on sustainable economic growth through incentives for various sectors including agriculture, industry and housing.

He had said incentives had been given to uplift the agriculture and industries sectors to increase employability and clarified that incentives to industries were not textile specific, but have also been extended to other sectors.

Tarin had added that taxes had been abolished to facilitate the investment in the Special Economic Zones being set up under the CPEC project.

Regarding the IT sector, he had said taxes had been rationalised in order to exploit the full potential of the sector and added that the government wanted to substantially enhance the sector's exports in the coming year.

For local industries, Tarin had said duties had been abolished on almost all raw materials, which would aid in strengthening local industries and reduce the country’s imports.