Provincial Minister for Industries and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal announced that the government is working towards transforming Punjab into a hub of investment, trade and economic activities.
Addressing the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), at its recently held 35th Annual General Meeting, he said that both foreign and local investors were prepared to invest in Punjab owing to the promising business environment in the province. In the last three years government has successfully established 23 small industrial estates within Punjab and is also in the process of setting up 13 Special Economic Zones he added. “We also promoted this idea at the private sector level”, he said.
In line with the policy of setting up the special economic zones, establishing a special economic park was also in addition to a Steel Development Authority, he added.
The minister noted, “Growing investment in the country is an expression of confidence in the prime minister’s economic policies,” He added that the government was committed to providing incentives and subsidies to exporters, industrialists and the business community.
He assured businessmen that the Punjab Board of Investment would actively facilitate investors in order to boost the investment in the province. He added that the new industrial zones are a hugely positive sign reflecting development in Punjab. It had also led to the generation of employment opportunities for a huge number of people.
“Under the prime minister’s vision, the Punjab government is committed to facilitating the industrialists and investors for improving economic activities and increasing employment opportunities,” he said.
“Government believes that economic revolution can only be possible through trade promotion and all possible support is being extended to the export sector to achieve optimum growth,” the minister added. He called the textile industry the backbone of the economy and promised that actions are being taken to elevate the sector.
Elaborating on the measures the government has taken to provide a favorable business environment in the province, he said that the state had eased financing for payment of wages as well as the release of outstanding tax refunds. These measures will allow the industrial wheel to keep moving forward even through the pandemic.
He emphasized that in order to promote the small and medium sized enterprises (SME), businessmen were granted easy loans of up to Rs10 million. On top of that, the government issued 15 licenses for the purpose of establishing cement plants.
