President, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Abdullah Zaki, has said that the government can revive the over 2000 sick industrial units across the country through provision of resources, which will result in boosting trade and industry in the country. Zaki said that there were more than 2000 sick units all over Pakistan, which have the basic infrastructure available with them.
The President further proposed that currency swap arrangement for trading in local currencies should be adopted to resolve the issuer of finance for international trade. He was of the view that low trade growth in Pakistan was the result of low availability and disbursement of credit. The KCCI president said that establishment of Export-Import (EXIM) bank was imperative for promotion and development of export sector in Pakistan.
All regional countries including India, Bangladesh and China have EXIM banks, while Pakistan is the only country without this facility, he said. He urged the government to set up an EXIM bank at the earliest to facilitate trade-related transitions and L/Cs. He further suggested that interest rate should be kept in single digit for promotion of trade and industry in the country. During 2013, discount rate in Chain was 2.25 percent, in Sri Lanka 6.5 percent and in India it was 7.75 percent, he pointed out. He suggested drastic reduction in discount rate to boost Pak exports, enhance GDP growth and increase tax collection.