http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/business/2007/February/business_February812.xml§ion=business&col=
Privatisation is the key to Pakistan's economy BY LUCIA DORE (Senior Correspondent) 27 February 2007 DUBAI — "The doors to Pakistan are open. There is a lot of hectic activity. If you see traffic jams and cranes in Dubai, you will soon see them in Pakistan too," said Pakistan's Minister of State for Finance, Omar Ayub Khan, at the Middle East IPO Summit being held in Dubai. The privatisation of Pakistan's key industries is one of three pillars on which the continued growth and diversification of the country's economy depends, he said. The other two pillars are deregulation and liberalisation. By formulating economic policy based on these three pillars the government has been able to boost growth, reduce poverty and improve income distribution, as well as diversify the economy, he said. The contribution of the agricultural sector to GDP is diminishing while the services sector is expanding. Consequently, the size of the middle class has grown which has a greater "propensity to consume," he added. Pakistan's GDP is forecast to expand 7 per cent in the fiscal year that began July 1, from 6.6 per cent in FY 2006 to reach about $135 billion. Foreign direct investment is forecast to reach $6 billion for fiscal year 2007 and "already it has already crossed $3 billion", said Khan. Pakistan's trade liberalisation and privatisation programmes are based primarily around the banking, electricity, telecommunication and energy sectors. Over the past 15 years, Pakistan has raised more than $6 billion selling state assets to help repay $36 billion of overseas debt. Among the assets that are currently up for sale are shares of four banks and a stake in PSO, which will be sold by June. The country will also sell shares of Habib Bank in an initial public offering by April. And there are plans to sell global depositary receipts in the bank, as well as in United Bank and National Bank of Pakistan, by June. Pakistan's economic performance continues to generate a great deal of interest, said Khan, and investors from the Middle East and Dubai, in particular, are looking for key investments in the country. The recent visit by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is an indication of this, he said. Going forward, Pakistan would strengthen its competitiveness by continuing to create industry clusters, which help to promote knowledge transfer and build human capital. Pakistan's young population will also propel Pakistan's economic growth and will enhance its competitiveness against countries such as China and India. Speaking about capital markets and regulatory reforms he said countries "have to compete on global standards or be marginalised," and emphasised the importance of having a regulatory model that is "responsive and flexible". +++ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/4It09A/fOaOAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
