Businessman Panel demand speedy power sector reforms

Lahore: Central leader of the Businessman Panel and former vice president FPCCI Khurram Sayeed on Tuesday asked the government to accelerate reforms in the power sector which has compromised GDP growth.

The government must take the advice of IMF regarding reforms and privatization of power distribution companies and contain increasing theft.

He said that circular debt has reached to 615 billion which is a big threat to the economy therefore it must be settled on priority.

Khurram Sayeed said that most of the economic indicators are moving in the right direction except for the country’s political temperature which continue to rise.

He said that lower oil prices made it cheaper for companies to purchase raw materials, operate factories properly, and transport products improving their business performance.

Government has reduced oil prices which has reduced inflation, improved households budgets enables people to spend their surplus money on other things.

The decision of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not only supported masses but also triggered economic recovery, the leader said.

State Bank should relax monetary policy so that the private sector could get cheap loans which is imperative for economic activity, job creation, and exports.

He noted that despite improvement in the economic indicators have improved the private sector is still generally shy of investing.

Reserves and rupee are steady, remittances and consumer confidence are high, inflation and the policy rate are in single digits which can hit GDP growth as high as five percent despite the devastation by floods, he added.

He gave credit of interest of Turkish investors in Pak-China Economic Corridor to the policies of incumbent government and security assured by COAS Raheel Sharif.

However, he said that the impact of ongoing political struggle is not very positive on the business sentiments.