Thriving industry inevitable for economic progress: Nawaz

Thriving industry inevitable for economic progress: Nawaz

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday said that Pakistan’s progress was linked with thriving industry, and the government has been exploring new vistas to provide avenues to the business community for economic progress.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Pakistan Auto Show at the Expo Centre, he said the world exports were spreading over 216 countries but 76 percent of Pakistan’s exports were confined to only 20 countries of the world, adding that the number needed to be enhanced.

The prime minister said the award of GSP+ status by the European Union (EU) was an achievement of the PML-N government, adding the facility would provide access to 90 per cent of the Pakistani products to the EU market at zero tariff. Nawaz said the volume of Pakistani exports would be increased to 1.5 million dollars during the fiscal year 2014-15, saying the government had been working on a comprehensive strategy to expand the exports network.

The prime minister said the government’s task was to provide conducive environment for the businesses to flourish. He said if industry thrives, the whole country prospers. The prime minister said January 1972 was a black day in the economic history of the country when 32 industries were nationalised causing unprecedented loss to the economy bringing it on the verge of disaster within days.

He said the government had inherited broken economy from the previous government and every institution was on the decline, adding the PML-N government had faced the challenges with conviction and did not lose heart at any moment.

“If we lose heart, the country’s economy will face the same situation as has been the case for the last 20 years”, Nawaz stressed. The prime minister said the country was facing many challenges including terrorism, energy crisis and unemployment, asserting that thorough commitment and hard work was required to overcome these challenges. Nawaz Sharif said the government had planned many development projects in collaboration with China and efforts were being made to complete these projects within the tenure of the government.

Regarding energy projects, the prime minister said 660 MW Port Qasim and 2,200 MW civil nuclear plant projects had been launched in Karachi while work had been started on Diamir-Bhasha Dam and Basu Dam which would generate thousands of megawatt of electricity. He said the fourth expansion plan of the Tarbela Dam had been inaugurated which would generate 1,410 megawatt electricity while Neelum-Jehlum transmission line was under construction and it would be completed within the next few years.

Nawaz Sharif said the Punjab government had launched two projects of 1,300 MW, adding the government also planned to work on 2,793 megawatt hydro power projects and 21,000 MW electricity would be added to the system once all these projects were completed.

He said only 16,000 MW capability was achieved during the past 65 years and the PML-N government would add 16,000 MW more electricity to the national grid during the next five years. The prime minister said the Lahore-Karachi motorway would be started this year, adding that the feasibility of the project had been completed.

He said the life of Lahore-Islamabad motorway was 10 years but, unfortunately, no attention was paid even after 15 years by the previous regimes.

The prime minister said projects of 30 to 40 billion of rupees would be completed during the next one and half years while work was underway on the Karakorum Highway, adding that railway track from Karachi to Peshawar would also be upgraded. Nawaz Sharif said the government had finalised seven years projects worth 32.690 billion dollars with China which would attract an annual foreign investment of 4 billion dollar in the country.

Nawaz Sharif said the government was fully committed to improve law and order situation in the country. He said the nation had every right to question the past rulers regarding the sorry state of affairs about electricity and gas. The prime minister also directed Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to hold a meeting with the stake-holders of the engineering industry and resolve their issues. Nawaz Sharif asked the auto show management to follow Geneva and other models for effective auto shows and maintain the same standards.

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GSP + | Pakistan going to grab larger share of Bangladesh

Pakistan set to grab larger share of Bangladesh's RMG exports to EU | LAST PAGE | Financial Express :: Financial Newspaper of Bangladesh

Monira Munni

Pakistan set to grab larger share of Bangladesh's RMG exports to EU Islamabad starts enjoying GSP facility from January .

Pakistan is set to grab a larger share of Bangladesh's   apparel export orders as the European Union (EU) grants after getting the generalised system of preferences (GSP) facility from next month, industry insiders said.

Industry circles expressed their concern that Pakistan is going to enjoy the benefit at a time when the readymade garment (RMG) industry of Bangladesh is struggling hard to survive amid ongoing grave political turmoil.

The recent political crisis in Bangladesh has already given a negative signal to the EU member-states and many of them are looking for alternative destinations for a smooth supply of products. Pakistan might become a lucrative competitor for Bangladesh-made apparel products, they pointed out.

Earlier, on December 12, the EU granted GSP plus status to Pakistan coming into effect from January. The status will provide Pakistan duty-free or preferential duty access for a total of 3,500 products including textiles.

"Pakistan will emerge as a new competitor of Bangladesh as it will also enjoy the GSP benefit in the 27-nation bloc from January 2014," Reaz-Bin-Mahmood, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said.

The GSP is one of the main factors for buyers to place orders in Bangladesh, Fazlul Hoque, former president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said. Pakistan will also avail the same benefit  triggering a strong competition.

Moreover, Pakistan has a strong backward linkage industry as it is a cotton- producing country and has enough technology and expertise, he told the FE.

The EU is offering the GSP benefit to Pakistan at a time when Bangladesh's garment industry is struggling hard due to unstable political situation and  other safety and compliance issues, he added.

Due to recent confrontational politics, buyers have already started shifting their orders to other competitors like India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia as they do not feel comfortable with us, he added.

"Before placing orders to Bangladesh, buyers will also consider Pakistan and this consideration will be a challenge for us," he added.

Orders for the next season has fallen to 30 to 40 per cent due to continuous disruptive political activities like strikes, hartals and blockades. Buyers are reluctant to place orders due to issues of security and timely shipments, said Md Shahidullah Azim, managing director of Classic Fashion Concept Ltd.

With the duty-free facility in the EU market, Pakistan will lure these orders, Mr Azim, also vice president of the BGMEA said. "We are now concerned whether these buyers will come back to Bangladesh or they will choose Pakistan as our alternative."

Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said, there is a possibility for buyers to take Pakistan into consideration if the political crisis lingers on here in Bangladesh.

With the GSP status, Pakistan could be a preferable destination for buyers. But how much it becomes a matter of concern for Bangladesh depends on the export basket of Pakistan and whether they will match with quality of Bangladeshi products, he added.

Bangladesh has been enjoying one-stage (garments made of imported fabrics, from any country in the world, will get the GSP and there is no value addition requirement for garment items) GSP facility in the EU market since January 1, 2011.

The EU is the largest destination for Bangladeshi garment products accounting for about 58 per cent of the total apparel exports.

The country fetched $12.56 billion from the EU market in 2012-13 fiscal while $5.17 billion came from woven products and $7.39 billion from knit items export.

Pakistan's textile and clothing exports to the EU currently constitute over half of the country's total $ 9.5 billion exports to the bloc.

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EU grants GSP Plus status to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The European Union (EU) on Thursday granted Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status to Pakistan with an impressive count of 406 votes, granting Pakistani products a duty free access to the European market.

According to media reports, 406 members of the European Parliament expressed their support for Pakistan while 186 lawmakers voted against the status, which has been granted till 2017.

The GSP Plus status will allow almost 20 per cent of Pakistani exports to enter the EU market at zero tariff and 70 per cent at preferential rates.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated the nation over the European Union award.

“Award of GSP Plus status shows the confidence of international markets in the excellent quality of Pakistani products,” he said in a statement.

The prime minister said: “gaining access to European markets was the top most priority of the government as part of economic development agenda, which has been achieved due to continuous hard work of the ministers and officials from the ministries of finance, commerce and foreign affairs and friends of Pakistan in Europe.”

This status would enable Pakistan to export more than US$1 billion worth of products to the international markets. Only the textile industry would earn profits of more than Rs1 trillion per year.

EU trade concessions will benefit the country’s largest manufacturer and exporter, the textile and clothing industry, the most by enabling its products to compete with those of regional rivals like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, which already have duty free access to the bloc’s market.

PM Sharif further said that increase in exports would resultantly facilitate in economic growth and help in generation of millions of additional jobs in the country.

Meanwhile expressing his pleasure over the development, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the EU status will help Pakistani exports to rise by up to $2 billion.

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