Smeda Chief Executive Officer Shahid Rashid has said that Mater Plan for southern Punjab is ready for execution. However, we have to set the priorities to demand sufficient funds from the government to bring this neglected area at par with developed areas of the country.
In this connection, a meeting of chambers of commerce and industry of southern Punjab would be convened soon. Delivering his speech at the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) chaired by its President Khawaja Muhammad Jalaluddin Roomi while FPCCI President was the chief guest, Shahid Rashid said the government had introduced a support fund for small and medium enterprises and financial assistance of Rs 1.8 million would be given under matching grant scheme for expanding business, consultancy. However, this grant cannot be spent on civil works, and purchasing machinery.
The Smeda CEO said that work on the project of Agro-Food Processing Plant had begun and it would be completed by June 2008 and the civil work and machinery installation would be completed by May 2008. He said that mango pulp, grading, and processing of fruits like mangoes, kinnos and vegetables would be carried out in this centre. It would serve under the control of a board of management.
Shahid hailed the offer of Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi for provision of land/space for a Women Exhibition Centre in Multan like Lahore and said that this centre would be established on top priority basis to facilitate the women entrepreneurs of southern Punjab. He stressed the need for encouraging the "Ahan" (Aik Hunar Aik Nagar) programme as there was a big scope of hand-knitted garments, handloom products, silver jewellery, blue pottery, hand-knotted carpets.
He said this project is initiated with the help of the All Pakistan Handloom Association in the surrounding area of Multan called Samejabad. Initially, five following product have been selected for the interventions: floor rugs, table mats/accessories, cushion covers, bed covers, and chic fabric Multan handloom manufacturers and running its operations nearly 90 percent for exports, having 100 percent in-house facilities from weaving to dyeing and bleaching will be involved in this activity.
The Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged Smeda to ensure project feasibility-based lending to SMEs besides strengthening banks-academia-SMEs linkage for the promotion of small and medium enterprises in the country.
MCCI President Khawaja Muhammad Jalaluddin Roomi informed the Smeda CEO that the SMEs are suffering from a number of weaknesses, which hamper their ability to take full advantage of the opening of economy and increasingly accessible world markets. Major areas responsible for the low performance are identified as labour, taxation, trade capacity, finance and credit availability.
The MCCI chief said that lending money to SMEs is still a problem and SME policy cannot be successful without ensuring guarantee free loans to small and medium enterprises. He said that lending to the SMEs should be based on the feasibility of the projects instead of collateral-based lending as the collateral-based lending is also coming in the way of promotion of SMEs.
Jalaluddin Roomi stressed the need for a strong financial institutions-academia-SMEs linkage to achieve the desired results. He said that Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry being the premier chamber of the country has always emphasised an elaborated role of SMEs in economic development.
SMEs constitute 99% of 3.2 million business enterprises in Pakistan, employ nearly 78 per cent of the non-agriculture labour force. It also contributes over 30% to the GDP, Rs 140 billion in exports and account 25% of the exports of manufactured goods besides sharing 35% in value added manufacturing. Despite all these figures our SME sector has not been able to realise its full potential. He also called for establishment of Business Information Centers in collaboration with Chambers in the country so that the process on Marketing Intelligence could be strengthened.
The MCCI chief said that inter-linking of different institutions like Smeda, Business Support Fund, Competitive Support Fund, Small Industries Corporation, SME Bank and chambers of commerce and industry is also of utmost importance for the promotion of small and medium enterprises.
Nine universities are working under Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation (a government agency) and Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to provide management support, financial support and taxation related support to the local SMEs.
He informed the meeting that Foundry Service Center, which has been approved, would soon start working in collaboration with University of Engineering and Technology for the people attached with steel sector. Earlier, prayers were offered for the departed soul of renowned industrialist Mian.
TPFC INAUGURATED: Meanwhile, Smeda CEO Shahid Rashid inaugurated a "Third Party Facilitation Centre (TPFC) which was established in collaboration with Smeda and the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) to provide legal advice to the MCCI members in their legal issues but not limited to taxation, labour, customs, company incorporation, IPRs, environment, banking, regulation relating to local government and Utilities, etc. Utilising Network, of legal service providers for practical assistance to SMEs before courts, tribunals, and authorities, etc.
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