FROM MENAHILL RASHID
FAISALABAD: Pakistan Economic Conference (PEC) will open new avenues of business opportunities in diverse, hi-tech and value-added sectors along with textile, said Mr. Atif Munir Sheikh, President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI).
Addressing a Press Conference, he said that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, a hi-fi conference is being arranged to synchronize local businesses with global initiatives. He said that textile is the iconic representation of Faisalabad but we want to go beyond this segment as there are unlimited opportunities of growth in other sectors which are still lying untapped. He said that the Government has already announced textile and SME policies in addition to giving a lucrative industrial package. “Our objective is to interact with the small traders and potential investors to avail from these emerging opportunities”, he said and added that it would not only open a new and profitable window for them but also help Pakistan to gear up its overall economic activities. He said that FCCI would play its key role in formulating budget proposals which would ultimately benefit the businesses and businessmen. Continuing Mr. Atif Munir Sheikh said that new technologies have revolutionized all sectors and our panelists and experts with their innovative approach would sensitize and motivate the businessmen to adopt these technologies to usher into a new era of progress and prosperity. He said that predominantly Pakistan is an agrarian economy but we are lacking far behind in value addition of our agriculture produce. He said that this special session has been designed to give much needed information to the young start-ups to produce a wide range of value-added products as basic raw material is available here in abundance. He said that most of the people intend to setup small units but they have no access to the capital and if it is available, they are reluctant to get loans with interest. He said that a comprehensive session would be arranged exclusively on the Islamic banking to dispel their apprehensions regarding interest-based economy. Underling the importance of IT (Information Technology), he said that we are earning just two billion dollars whereas Indian export of IT is around 150 billion dollars. He said that our youth are fully competent to play their role in this field but they need awareness and an enabling environment and we would try our best to equip them with basic information in addition to giving them successful business models. He said that during this conference young start-ups would be given guidelines with business models to enter into the practical field with courage, ideas and vision. He said that our exports are directly linked with the imports and we must convince our youth to develop the import substitution industry as it would help us to trim our import bill. He said that Faisalabad has state of the art M3 and Allama Iqbal Industrial Estates and we need local as well as foreign investment for its speedy colonization. “In this connection, information would be passed on to the participants to launch joint ventures with technology transfer”, he added. President FCCI said that we are working on this mega event for the last two and half months and requested the media to give it full coverage and play its role for the success of PEC. He further said that Presidents of 72 chambers, women and small chambers have confirmed their participation in addition to 150 leading businessmen and economists. He said that ambassadors and high commissioners of 13 countries are also expected to be a part of this event. He said that FCCI would not spend even a penny on this conference whereas its expenditures are estimated around Rs.25 to 28 million. “These expenditures would be fulfilled through sponsorships and direct contribution by the business community”, he said and added that this conference has no direct link with the Government neither we intend to seek any privileges or perks from the Government but we would try our best to highlight the salient features of Government policies which could change the entire economic landscape of Pakistan. Responding to a question about tax evasion, he said that non-filers are not eligible to get FCCI membership whereas we are making continuous efforts to bring maximum businesses into the tax net.
Dr. Rizwan, Advisor to the PEC, said that uptill now, Pakistan failed to exploit its huge agriculture potential. Quoting the example of Vietnam, he said that this country was earning 350 billion dollars from agriculture exports. “This country was focusing on high value agriculture products in addition to adding value to these commodities”, he said and added that Pakistan has also potential to earn 80-90 billion dollars from this sector. “Similarly, the medical sector could also earn 30-35 billion dollars”, he added.
Mr. Muhammad Azhar Chaudhary Convener PEC said that we are trying to evolve and implement a strategy to transform Pakistan in to a highly developed industrial country. Later Mr. Imran Mahmood Sheikh Senior Vice President offered vote of thanks.
