Federal Minister for Privatisation Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has said privatisation process of PSO, PTCL, National Refinery and Pak Arab Fertiliser would be completed within next six months. He said this while talking to newsmen after addressing the first national conference on 'Management of the Pakistan Economy' at the Lahore School of Economics here on Thursday. The Minister further said privatisation of UBL would take place in June this year.
"The Privatisation Commission has generated an amount of Rs 75 billion during last two years, while during first three years of General Pervez Musharraf regime the Commission yielded Rs 36 billion. On the contrary, only Rs 60 billion could be received through privatisation during last 10 years prior to General Musharraf's take over," he added.
He further said 90 per cent of total proceeds of privatisation were being utilised for debt retirement while 10 per cent was going to Poverty Alleviation Fund so that poverty could be eradicated from the country. He said they were taking various measures to expedite and making effective privatisation to yield good income for the national exchequer. "These measures include aggressive campaign in international markets to attract foreign investment, providing enabling environment for investment in the country and introducing investment-friendly policies," he added.
According to him, besides road shows, conferences and seminars were also being held in various cities of the country to promote companies that were to be privatised.
Addressing the conference, Union Bank President Shaukat Tareen stressed the need for transparent judicial system and consistent policies in the country. He also emphasised the need for promotion of venture capital for small and medium enterprises.
While addressing a technical session, Planning and Development Baord Punjab Chairman Suleman Ghani extensively elaborated on Punjab Development Forum (PDF). He said development occurs when income increases along with other aspects of standard of living (reduced mortality rates, lower illiteracy, increase in education and increase in life expectancy).
He was of the view that ultimately 'development' has to be concerned about advancing human wellbeing and human freedom. "One could not gauge the progress of development with the growth of GDP per capita. Performance, outcomes and result-orientation should be the guiding criteria for all development projects and programmes," he added.