Hafeez Shaikh says reforms bearing fruit, economy moving towards stability
\nour correspondent
\nISLAMABAD
\nAdviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh on Sunday said the government after making tough decisions to reform the economy was eyeing a collection of over Rs1 trillion in non-tax revenue.
\nAddressing a press conference in the federal capital, he said that the government expects to collect Rs200 billion from the renewal fee of cellular licences of telecom companies, namely Jazz, Telenor and Zong, and Rs300bn through the privatisation of Re-Gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) plants.
\nMoreover, he said, if the exchange rate remains stable, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would earn Rs400bn.
\n\u201cAll of these combined with revenues from privatisation of state-owned enterprises and other initiatives would bring in over Rs1 trillion in the coming year,\u201d he said, adding that this increase in revenue would enable the government to pay off its loans and work for the welfare of the people.
\nHe further said that the government has decided to expedite the process in this regard. \u201cThe privatisation of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) is currently under consideration,\u201d he added.
\nTalking about taxation, the finance adviser said that the government had set the tax collection target at Rs5,500 billion, out of which Rs580 billion have already been collected while the number of tax filers has gone up by 0.6 million to 2.5 million.
\n\u201cThe circular debt was reduced by Rs100 billion and power theft was curtailed,\u201d he said, adding that the government also froze the defence budget.
\n\u201cThe rupee is now stable and the stock market is also seeing growth,\u201d he said.
\nThe finance adviser said that the incumbent government\u2019s financial reforms have started bearing fruit as the economy is moving towards stability.
\nHe said that the country\u2019s economic indicators portrayed a worrisome picture when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) assumed office in August last year.
\n\u201cThe country was on the brink of bankruptcy because of the previous government\u2019s policies but through our financial reforms we have improved the economic situation,\u201d he said, adding that the economy is moving towards stability and the current account deficit had been reduced by 73 per cent.
\nHe further said that the government is working for the betterment of the people of Pakistan and no compromise would be made on taxation.
\n\u201cWe took tough financial decisions for the welfare of the people and we are currently taking measures to promote investment,\u201d he added.
\nMeanwhile, the government\u2019s decision to privatise state-owned enterprises was welcomed by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI).
\nICCI President Ahmed Hassan Moughal said that loss-making state-owned enterprises had become a big burden on the national exchequer and handing them over to the private hands was the optimum solution to save the taxpayers money from unnecessary wastage.
\nOn Friday, Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Mian Soomro, while briefing investors, had said that the government would sell its share in the SLIC.
\nSoomro had said that the profit and market share of the SLIC was shrinking; hence the incumbent government had decided to sell its stake in the loss-making organisation.
\n\u201cSLIC is an important institute and its profit and market share are declining which is a cause for concern. Providing the private sector shares of the State Life will improve its performance,\u201d the minister had said.
\n\u201cThrough privatisation, the national institutes running in losses will be provided better investment opportunities and with the introduction of advanced technology and corporate sector\u2019s better abilities, poverty can be alleviated and tax revenue increased,\u201d he had added.
\nResponding to a question, the minister had said that the government was focusing on the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills, adding that there were 204 state-owned enterprises and the government could not privatise them all.
\nHe had said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had constituted a team of experts for the revival of loss-making public enterprises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hafeez Shaikh says reforms bearing fruit, economy moving towards stability our correspondent ISLAMABAD Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh on Sunday said the government after making tough decisions to reform the economy was eyeing a collection of over Rs1 trillion in non-tax revenue. Addressing a press conference in the federal capital, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83232,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n