ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said with the country’s economic indicators showing positive trends, there is a need to take special initiatives and offer incentives to attract investments from expatriates — who he said own dollars equivalent to Pakistan’s GDP.
“We have to strive and look for ways to attract overseas Pakistanis, who are progressing well in every sector abroad and, I know and according to some estimates, own the amount of dollars equivalent to our GDP,” he said, speaking at the launch of Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The NPCs issued by the SBP are for overseas and resident Pakistanis with declared assets abroad offer “very attractive expected rates of 5.5 to 7 per cent” on dollar investments and “9.5 to 11 per cent” on rupee.
The Prime Minister said with the situation of Islamophobia campaigns and very low interest rates in the West, the NPCs, which offer attractive rates of return, provide an opportunity for overseas Pakistanis to invest their hard-earned money in their homeland for their own as well as the benefit of the country. Highlighting the country’s achievements on the economic front, he said aside from the food inflation, which was also on the rise in India due to pressure on supply chain, the
country’s major economic indicators were moving in a positive direction.
The Prime Minister mentioned that the government, which inherited a $20-billion current account deficit, had brought it to surplus — the first time in 17 years and checked the fiscal deficit and brought in fiscal discipline during the last two years. He explained that increases in the current account deficit and higher imports put pressure on the rupee and in turn bring price-hike in imported commodities like gas, edible oil, ghee and pulses.
The Prime Minister said besides the “major achievement” of bringing the current account in surplus, the government had succeeded in realising a 24 per cent increase in exports and enhanced receipt of workers’ remittances. He expressed his pleasure that with the achievement of stability in primary balance — difference in revenue and expenditure — there was no raise in the country’s debt during the last four months.
The Prime Minister mentioned that a well-performing stock market — “the best in Asia, booming construction industry, record sales of cement and other construction materials, boost in the textile industry, and higher sales of motorcycles and cars are reflective of the fact that the economy is on the right path”.
