ECC gives nod to collateral free financing for SMEs

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Friday approved collateral free lending scheme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to facilitate SMEs which do not have collateral to get financing from banks.

Finance minister Shaukat Tarin chaired the meeting ECC meeting.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) presented a summary regarding 'Refinance and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Collateral Free Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)' to facilitate SMEs

The proposed scheme will enable the SBP to partner with selected banks through a transparent procedure and provide collateral free financing to SMEs to promote sustainable economic growth and development in the country.

"The ECC approved the summary and directed the SBP to develop a comprehensive monitoring mechanism with clear-cut benchmarks for effective performance evaluation of the scheme," a government statament said.

The Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Dr. Sania Nishtar presented a summary regarding allocation of funds for launching 2nd phase of Ehsaas Emergency Cash (EEC) program.

It was proposed that number of regular Ehsaas Kafalat beneficiaries be increased and additional beneficiaries added (after identification through ongoing NSER) to mitigate economic hardships amid COVID-19 pandemic during the second phase of EEC.

After due deliberations, the ECC recommended the Ehsaas program to evaluate whether the new NSER survey target those sectors which have been adversely affected due to smart and micro lockdowns during COVID-19 and present updated proposal before the Committee.

The underlying rationale is to provide targeted subsidies to support the most vulnerable segments of the society during the third wave of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, ECC approved summary of Power Division for allocation of 3.0 MMCFD gas from well NF Hor-1 (RE) to M/S PPL, for a period of two years, for sale to any third party selected through a competitive bidding process at a mutually agreed and negotiated price under a Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA).

However, the cabinet committee directed that such summaries might be dealt at the level of the concerned Ministry/Division after fulfilling all codal formalities.

The ECC evaluated a summary by the Board of Investment (BOI) regarding exemption from minimum Turnover Tax under Special Economic Zones Act 2012 to facilitate both SEZ developers and its enterprises.

After detailed discussion, the Committee directed the Law Division, Federal Board of Revenie (FBR) and Board of Investment (BOI) to firm-up proposals through mutual consultation regarding implementation of the exemption from minimum Turnover Tax and present before the next ECC for requisite approval.

The Ministry of Privatization made a detailed presentation before the ECC regarding grant of National Security Certificate (NSC) and outstanding payables and recoverable issues of Karachi Electric.

Federal Minister for Planning and Energy updated the forum about the principles agreed between the federal government and the K-Electric to resolve most of their long-standing issues regarding additional supply and payment procedures during the last meeting.

The ECC appreciated the efforts made by all concerned and directed to expedite the signing of new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for smooth payment mechanism and uninterrupted power supply to Karachi.

The ECC also accorded approval for settlement of issues out of past transactions through Arbitration. The Federal Minister for Energy informed the Committee that new PPA would be signed with the K-Electric soon.

The ECC also approved a summary of Commerce Ministry about condonation of delay of late shipment of vehicles imported by overseas Pakistanis subject to compliance with all other conditions of import.

The ECC also approved various Technical Supplementary Grants (TSG) including Rs100 million for the Ministry of Defence Production for Project Management Cell for Gwadar Shipyard; Rs3 billion in favor of Government of Gilgit-Baltistan to meet the employee-related expenses; Rs7.2 billion for the Ministry of Housing and Works for the execution of various development schemes and Rs85 million for the Ministry of Industries and Production for meeting necessary expenditure.

It also approved Rs89.279 million for the Petroleum Division for the supply of gas to Allama Iqbal Industrial City (SEZ); Rs1 billion for the Ministry of Climate Change for the PSDP Project titled “Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Program Phase-I”, Rs317 million for the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication for meeting the shortfall of funds for purchase of IT equipment by NITB and Rs4.8 million for the Ministry of Housing and Works for the repair and maintenance of Abandoned Property House, Islamabad.

The cabinet committee also approved Rs96.418 million for the Ministry of Housing and Works for meeting necessary expenses, Rs45 million for the Ministry of Housing and Works for National Housing Authority (NEW; Policy and Planning Wing) and Rs7.5 billion for the Ministry of Railways for Payment of Pay and Pensions dues of employees.