President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Majid Raza Bhutta has urged upon the government to take drastic steps for opening e-Commerce Payment Gateways to Pakistan for the promotion businesses. Talking to reporters on Sunday he said that government should direct the concerned authorities including State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Ministry of Information Technology and others to strive for bringing e-commerce payment gateways like Pay-Pal, Google Pay and Samsung pay etc. Electronic commerce offers unprecedented opportunities to both developing and developed countries, he said.
The SCCI President further added that advancement of technology has aided international business and has impact the global economy in many ways. Majid said that millions of people worldwide were using internet to do everything from research to purchasing products online adding that the use of internet by business entities include the ability to advertise, generate and perform regular functions.
He said that many firms are embracing the internet for many activities adding that one impact for e-commerce is to intensify competition and producing benefits to consumers in lower prices and more choices. E-commerce has allowed the businesses to bypass the whole supply chain involving middle-man, brokers and suppliers and reach out directly to end users earning more profits he added.
The SCCI President further added that it is a sad fact that where the world has moved from basic payment gateways to the most advanced e-currency "Bitcoin". Pakistan still lacks the payment gateways mandatory to carry out international e-trade. Necessary amendments should be made in policy framework of State Bank of Pakistan to fulfill the requirements of E-Payment Gateways he added.
The Chamber President also stressed the dire need of setting up "Support Industry" in the country and government should encourage the businessmen and investors to invest in support industry which would ultimately lead to import substitution. Export sector of the country is heavily relies on import of raw materials especially from China for further value addition and re-exports he said. Pakistan has seen many industrial surges where industries were established but no work has ever been done to invest in Support Industry to complement the existing manufacturing set up of the country he was of the opinion.
The SCCI President suggested that government should encourage foreign and local investors enabling them to invest in support industry like accessories of textile and clothing, printing and packaging, etching and polishing chemicals used in surgical instruments industry and others.