Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday said the cost of doing business is controlled in every country, which is necessary for development. He said that the countries where the cost of doing business is unchecked become beggars. Mian Zahid Hussain said that the business community of the European Union and neighbouring countries take cheap loans and concessions from the government for production, export and technology sectors. In contrast, due to the continuous increase in business costs, planning has become impossible for businessmen in our country.
The local business community is suffering from extremely high costs of electricity and gas, governance issues and other factors, leaving them unable to consider long-term business planning.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said business has become almost impossible. Therefore, many entrepreneurs are taking refuge in the real-estate sector.
The industrialists of developed countries have the full capacity to compete with other countries in the global market, due to which their countries’ economies develop. In contrast, our business community cannot compete in the global market.
Due to weakness in the system, it has become increasingly difficult for our exports to boost exports and earn foreign exchange for the country.
The business leader said that many businessmen know that Pakistan and the property sector cannot develop together, but still, our policymakers seem least interested.
Due to industrialists’ investment in the property market, acquiring a plot and building a house has become a dream for the middle class.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that in the current economic situation, the real-estate sector had become a haven for domestic industrialists and has become a very profitable business.
At present, the real estate sector is attracting most of the country’s capital, and the production sector, which is a major source of employment and foreign exchange in the country, is becoming a loss-making business; unless this trend is changed, the country cannot develop and will always need loans.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that how can a country progress when people working in foreign countries earn more foreign exchange than the industrialists and send 30 billion dollars to the country annually?
The price of the shares of a well-known business organisation in a neighbouring country has decreased by 108 billion dollars in a few days, while the personal wealth of the head of the group has decreased by 48 billion dollars. Still, it has not made any difference, while Pakistan has been knocking on every door to arrange a few billion dollars for months.
He said that the culture of Pakistan and India is not much different. Still, there is a huge difference in policies which has made India a global economic power, and Pakistan has become a beggar.