PM assures industrialists: government not given any out-of-the box incentives to Chinese

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has assured industrialists that government has not given any out of box incentives to Chinese businessmen in the wake of CPEC. "We have only given some incentives to those Chinese industrialists who want to relocate their industries from China to Pakistan, as you may be aware the cost of doing business had increased in China" he added.
The Prime Minister was talking to a delegation of Business Men Panel of FPCCI coming from all four provinces led by its Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar who called on him at the PM office the other day. The Prime Minister said the government is determined to support domestic industry and we were well aware that industry is engine of any economy.
He said there is some misconception that government was giving some out of box incentives to Chinese businessmen in the wake of CPEC. I assure you there is nothing like that. PM Abbasi said a committee was working on the export of surplus sugar, in the mean time we had imitated a close coordination with the provinces to resolve the issues of business community as under 18th amendment some ministries /departments had been shifted to the provinces.
The PM directed the Commerce Minister to start close liaison with the business community and the chambers of commerce, so that the federal government could have a continuous dialogue with regard to their problems. Spokesman for BMP Ahmad Jawad told Business Recorder that BMP leaders urged the Prime Minister to devise a policy in order to promote industrialization in the country which is much needed for the economic prosperity.
They also stressed the need for revisiting the trade policy as the country's exports had declined in three years where as exports of Bangladesh rose from $ 24 billion to 36 billion; comparatively our trade deficits were very alarming even if we include overseas Pakistanis remittances, (over $18 billion) trade deficit was still there.
Anjum Nisar said we are well aware of the government's problems but at the same time the government should also realize the business community's problems. He said last month Regulatory Duty was imposed on the import of even raw materials for industries without consultations with the chambers of commerce which could increase our cost of doing business.
He also highlighted the issue of increasing Cost of doing business which was confronted by the traders and the businessmen at large. Anjum said though we are thankful to the government for launching CPEC, yet the business community demands the same incentives for themselves being offered to Chinese private sector.
Similarly Special Economic Zones (SEZ) which were offered in CPEC are still not physically operative. He requested the Prime Minister to make the SEZ's functional so that private sector of Pakistan may set up industries there. The Chairman BMP also drew Prime Minister's attention towards the Sales Tax refunds which were piling up day by day, in this regard he suggested that FBR should make a workable mechanism to release the sales tax claims which were much needed to rotate the financial circle of the businessmen.