The federal government has prioritised sectors such as agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and information technology (IT) for bank financing to stimulate growth.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has requested the Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA) to lead a task force comprising representatives from the banking sector, government and relevant stakeholders. The primary objective is to accelerate financing for the priority sectors.
He advised the PBA to devise actionable strategies to overcome the existing challenges and bottlenecks hindering the growth of these vital sectors.
At the same time, the federation seeks reduced reliance on bank financing and is focusing on developing equity and debt markets to fund infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships.
The finance minister aims to accelerate growth by concentrating investments on redefined growth-enabling sectors while exploring financing options apart from banks
“There has been a massive redistribution of wealth from the public to the financial sector due to government borrowings and high-interest rates,” says Yousuf Nazar, the former head of Citigroup’s emerging markets investment and author of The Gathering Storm.
In a related development, a proposal was recently initiated for co-financing federal ‘strategic projects’ by the centre and the provinces, along with integrating provincial projects to create synergy among the provinces.
On previous occasions, sub-federations opposed efforts........