A meeting here presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz reviewed targets and goals of the Ministry of Privatisation and Investment on Wednesday. The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the pace of privatisation programme. He said that privatisation is an important programme of the economic reforms' agenda of the government.
He said the government has to play the role of facilitator and regulator to provide enabling environment to the entrepreneurs to invest and do business. The government does not do business; it rather facilitates business in the private sector, he added.
The Prime Minister said the Privatisation Commission has a heavy agenda for the current financial year. A number of state-owned enterprises are offering for privatisation. companies like Fesco, Pak-Arab Fertiliser, Carrier Telephone Industries and Kapco are being offered for sale to private sector. He said that privatisation process will generate economic activity and encourage more investment in the country.
He said the board should encourage and facilitate the local private sector entrepreneurs to bring in foreign investors by joining them in joint ventures.
The board, he said, should do research on exploring opportunities for investment in different sectors of local market and then focus on procuring local or foreign investment in the required sectors.
The Prime Minister added that there was need to upgrade the capacity of the Board of Investment. He said the board should also provide assistance and support to other ministries and organisations for fetching investment in their respective fields.