The caretaker government on Friday vowed to uphold agreements with the global lenders including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), seeking to “jumpstart” and expand economy following a period of shrinkage. This was stated during a joint press conference by Caretaker Information and Broadcasting Minister Murtaza Solangi, Caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar, Caretaker Power Minister Mohammad Ali and Caretaker Commerce Minister Dr Gohar Ejaz. The press conference was held following the fifth meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC)’s apex committee held today with a singular focus to improve the overall business and investment environment in the country being imperative for ‘economic revival’. The meeting was chaired by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and attended by Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, federal cabinet, provincial chief ministers and high-level government officials. The concerned ministries presented their plans and roadmaps to overcome the macroeconomic challenges, governance-related impediments and voids in regulatory mechanisms in a bid to attract both foreign and domestic investment, and stimulate economic growth. Read more: Govt likely to handover DISCOs to provinces The committee deliberated upon various measures to be taken in short, medium and long term to reap the envisaged dividends. Various practical steps were approved by the premier that will be operationalised as soon as possible. The prime minister asked the ministries to deliver optimal results irrespective of the time that is available with the interim government and emphasised to lay a strong foundation for the future government. Apprising about the details of the meeting, the information minister stated its agenda prominently featured efforts to reduce government expenditures, lower external borrowing, advance the reform programme, and remove obstacles to foreign investment. 5th meeting of Special Investment Facilitation Council’s Apex Committee was held in Islamabad today with singular focus to improve overall business & investment environment in country being imperative for ‘Economic Revival’@anwaar_kakar #BreakingNews https://t.co/8m34HOqm37 pic.twitter.com/APvH7hOwQf — Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) September 8, 2023 He said that discussions centred on reforms within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), tackling smuggling of goods such as petroleum products. "We respect international agreements [with global lenders] and we will uphold them,” emphasised Solangi. “However, if any misuse of these agreements is detected, we will also engage in discussions to address those concerns,” he added. Addressing the media, Finance Minister Shamsad Akhtar highlighted the government's commitment to approaching economic matters as a unified team. “It was decided [during the meeting] to adopt ‘whole-of-government approach’ to the finance ministry’s various divisions and would operate holistically [and] consistently as a team,” she added. Also read: Crackdown on power pilferers kicks off She said that cabinet committees have been established, and comprehensive discussions are underway to expedite financial inclusion during the restructuring phase. Akhtar said that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) pose a heavy burden on the national exchequer. "We are in the process of setting up a dedicated monitoring unit to assess the performance of these entities and those who are burdening the treasury will be added to the privatisation list.” She said the interim setup wanted to review economy and for that they were working to “define the steps to jump start the economy,” adding along with that they were making efforts to enhance social safety net during the period when structural adjustment reforms programme is implemented. “We would try to enhance social safety net and more importantly financial inclusion would be expedited so that SME, agriculture sectors and citizens get opportunity for financial empowerment through digitisation,” she added. The minister said that SOEs were facing issues and have burdened the exchequer, so the government would prepare SOE policy to overcome the issues. She said that a Central Monetary Unit would be established with two principle pillars including (1) to help various ministries to strengthen the corporate governance of SOEs, and prepare the entities that are ready to take forward for listing them for privatisation. The minister said that the government wanted to diversify the SOEs debt burden through capital market as currently it was solely burden on banking sector and even government also raised debt from banking sector. “This strategy would also help enhance the depth and breadth of the capital market. The interim setup wanted the government securities are floated at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) so their maturity is stretched and common man can invest in government securities.” On the occasion, Ejaz said that the imports were reduced to $55 billion from $87 billion last year due to the then government’s interventions. Ijaz Gohar further discussed trade and exports, noting that last year's control on revenues had resulted in a reduction from $78 billion to $55 billion, resulting in the contraction of Pakistani market by approximately $30 billion. "We have adopted a stance in the meeting that the market needs to be opened up. Discussions are underway to revive industries by reducing the supply chain disruptions. This will lead to an increase in revenues.” This year, he said, we not only have to cover the reduced $5 billion in exports but also aim for additional earnings which would help alleviate inflation. He said that the dollar was being traded around Rs300, adding that if industries are revived, we may see it around Rs250. “With the revival of industries and increase in export, Pakistan cannot achieve economic stability,” he further said. Moreover, Power Minister Mohammad Ali shared insights into the energy sector, outlining three key areas of focus including reducing the cost of electricity production, curbing electricity theft, and addressing reduced capacity charges. “We have to improve governance within distribution companies (DISCOs) and strengthen their boards,” he added. Ali emphasised the need to address the significant losses, which amount to over Rs300 billion in the petroleum and gas sector, saying that Pakistan used to lose Rs1,000 billion in this sector in the past. "There is a gas shortage in the country, so we have to depend on imported LNG. We currently have two terminals," Ali explained. "In the future, we will need to install more LNG terminals, reduce circular debt, and focus on exploring new reserves for oil and gas." https://ift.tt/Y4TEunA