PM seeks export-led growth push

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said export-led economic growth was the government's priority and urged the business community to help identify obstacles to higher exports, while directing the relevant authorities to examine extending the super tax exemption for exporters.

Addressing a meeting with leading industrialists, businessmen and entrepreneurs, the prime minister said the government had introduced long-pending structural reforms over the past two and a half years in consultation with the private sector, describing the process as the outcome of sustained teamwork.

He said the government had held multiple rounds of consultations with business leaders before the budget, with the finance and commerce ministers and their secretaries also engaging stakeholders, and several recommendations from the business community were incorporated into the budget.

Shehbaz said economic growth without an export orientation would be meaningless, which was why special tax relief had been extended to exporters in the budget. He directed the relevant authorities to review the possibility of extending the super tax exemption for exporters.

The prime minister said the purpose of Tuesday's meeting was to seek the business community's views during the first quarter of the fiscal year on challenges confronting export enhancement and possible solutions.

He said Rs800 billion had been recovered during the last fiscal year through enforcement measures alone without imposing new taxes, adding that long-pending court cases, particularly those involving indirect sales tax paid by consumers, had also been pursued.

Shehbaz said the improvement in enforcement was unprecedented in the country's history, adding that the government's economic team had brought considerable improvement in macroeconomic conditions, although further efforts were needed at the microeconomic level so that the benefits reached the common people.

He said the government was taking measures to promote business activity, improve the ease of doing business and reduce energy costs, while work was under way to reduce the regulatory burden by simplifying rules, cutting compliance costs and facilitating commercial activity.

The prime minister also pledged to strengthen the recently established Trade Facilitation Board and said its performance and scope would be improved in light of proposals from the business community. Investors were being facilitated through a one-window operation under the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

Shehbaz said the government was focusing on workforce training according to industrial requirements to equip young people with market-relevant skills, while directing authorities to ensure immediate and lasting solutions to problems confronting the business community.

The meeting was informed that port charges had been reduced and operational efficiency improved, while work was continuing on upgrading Motorway M-10 and the Pipri Freight Corridor to improve inland connectivity from Karachi's ports.

The meeting was also informed that government measures had resulted in a record increase in IT exports, while one million people were being trained in information technology and artificial intelligence. Officials also briefed the delegation on financing and other measures to promote small and medium-sized enterprises and integrate them into the export sector.

The business leaders appreciated the country's macroeconomic stability and expressed confidence in the government's economic reforms and policy measures, including the Export Development Fund, timely payment of tax refunds and digitisation of the Federal Board of Revenue.

They described Pakistan's successful $3 billion bond issuance as evidence of macroeconomic stability and growing business confidence, while also appreciating the government's privatisation and deregulation policies.

They appreciated Pakistan's constructive role in promoting regional peace under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and pledged continued cooperation to promote export-led economic growth.

The meeting was attended by prominent business figures including Mian Muhammad Mansha, Arif Habib, Saqib Shirazi, Atif Bajwa, Muhammad Ali Tabba, Musadik Zulqarnain, Umar Saeed, Samad Dawood, Ashraf Mookaty, Shahid Soorti, Shehzad Asghar, Ziad Bashir, Shehzad Saleem, Asif Peer, Amir Ibrahim, Javed Bilwani, Siddiq Bhatti, Fawad Anwar, Khurram Mukhtar and Yousuf Hussain.