While firms in Punjab and Pakistan have a significant untapped potential in raising productivity, firms productivity is the only sustainable way, to improve competitiveness of the provincial and national economy in Pakistan and the rest of South Asia. This was highlighted in South Asia competitiveness report titled "South Asia's turn: policies to boost competitiveness and create the next export powerhouse," released here Thursday.
Punjab Planning & Development Department in collaboration with the World Bank Group hosted the launch release of this report. According to the report, firms gain significant productivity benefits from being located in areas which exhibits diversity of workers, suppliers, and customers. With the right set of productivity-enhancing policies, firms in Punjab will do well in increasing their market share in the region as well as globally.
The report also calls for helping firms in Punjab to innovate and improve their managerial capabilities, and use new technology enhance connectivity with customers and suppliers for boosting competitiveness.
"Firms in Punjab and Pakistan have a significant untapped potential in raising productivity through development of urban ecosystems providing thick markets for skilled labour, large tracts of industrial land, and world class logistics," said Vincent Palmade, Lead Economist and one of the report's co-authors. Addressing the ceremony, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo Secretary P&D Punjab informed the participants that Punjab government had already embarked upon ease of doing business reform agenda and has launched "Punjab Jobs and Competitiveness Programme" which aims at creating favourable conditions for doing business initiatives for local firms leveraging public private dialogue while ensuring reforms are in line with expectations of key stakeholders from the industries."
Dr Mujtaba Piracha, Secretary Industries, Commerce & Investment highlighted that the challenge was not just restricted to policy change, but to reform the mindset to permeate all the way to human resources.
It was emphasised that the private sector should play a key role and collaborate with public sector companies. Representatives of private sector, academia and the government departments attended the ceremony while Sohail Lashari former President LCCI and Dr Khurram Anwar Khawaja, leading exporter from Sialkot also participated in the panel discussion.