ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Saturday said world’s fifth most populated country Pakistan has all the ingredients to become a leading economic power.
All the country needs is to improve some policies hindering growth as pay serious attention to long-awaited reforms, it said.
Our tax system is not well-adjusted therefore it is discouraging investment, it is impeding distribution of wealth which is shrinking the middle class and increasing poverty, said Atif Ikram Sheikh, Chairman FPCCI Regional Committee on Industries.
Loans, trade deficit, and current account deficit have reached to new proportions which is highly worrying, he added.
Atif Ikram Sheikh said that our economy is contracting while the regional countries continue to grow as the Bangladesh’s per capita income is now more than Pakistan’s.
Pakistan’s per capita income stands at 1470 dollars while the per capita income in Bangladesh is 1538 dollars.
It is the same country which was faced a cyclone in 1970 and war in 1971 destroyed its remaining infrastructure. The share of industry in the GDP was hardly seven percent at that time which has now swelled to 29 percent which its exports of readymade garments have increased from the combined exports of Pakistan and India, he informed.