Business Leaders Press Relief as Pakistan Touts IMF Cash and Reform Steps

Overview

• LCCI President Faheemur Rehman Saigol warned that an unsustainable cost of doing business, driven by high interest rates and expensive power and gas, is pushing industries to relocate and cut jobs.
• Industry leaders urged a forensic audit of Independent Power Producer contracts and called for electricity tariffs to be brought in line with regional competitors.
• Business demands included incentives to bring non-filers into the tax net, a simpler and more transparent system with unnecessary withholding taxes scrapped, restoration of the Final Tax Regime for exporters, and timely duty refunds.
• Saigol highlighted state-owned enterprise losses of about Rs850 billion a year and pressed for immediate privatisation, along with collateral-free, cash-flow-based financing for SMEs to support jobs and exports.
• Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the State Bank has received $1.2 billion under the IMF programme, invited private participation in PIA privatisation, announced PASCO’s abolition with private management of strategic reserves, shifted the Tax Policy Office to the Finance Division, and reported NFC working groups formed with progress expected by January 15.