Govt Offering Lucrative Incentives To Attract Investment: Tarin

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Mar, 2022 ) :Federal Finance Minister Senator Shaukat Tarin on Friday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was offering lucrative incentives to various sectors including Information Technology, Agriculture and industry to attract local as well as foreign investment aimed at achieving sustainable economic growth.

He said that a five year tax holiday was being extended to the IT sector which was a fastest growing industry around the world and Pakistan being a youth-driven country, could harness better results by facilitating the youth. The Minister mentioned that the country had witnessed a 47 percent growth last year in this sector whereas it expected growth at 70 percent current year.

Speaking as a chief guest at the golden jubilee of IBA department of the Punjab University, Tarin said that with a 100 percent growth in IT sector for consecutive five years, its revenue could reach between 50 to 60 billion Dollars.

There was a need to enhance growth of agriculture sector as Pakistan was a agricultural country, he said, adding that more progress should be made in this area so that the country could avoid imports of wheat, sugar, pulses, cooking oil etc. He said that China's assistance had also been sought to bring improvements in this sector and increasing productivity.

He said that during a recent visit to China, Pakistan had asked the Chinese authorities that it wanted support in four major areas, which would lead to speedy socioeconomic growth.

With the support of China, Pakistan had established infrastructure, connectivity and SEZs (Special Economic Zones), he said and added, "Now we want China's help in populating these SEZs." Assistance in Agriculture and IT had also been requested to the Chinese authorities, the Minister said, adding that growth in these sectors would bring a durable and swift growth in the country's economy.

He said the government had introduced various initiatives for sustainable economic growth by focusing on industrial expansion, increased agricultural yield, increased revenue collection, broadening of tax base, and narrowing down the import-export gap.

Tarin said the PTI government had not only pointed out the factors affecting the economic growth, but also taking effective measures and focusing on long-term planning to ensure economic stability.

The Finance Minister recalled that Pakistan had been achieving fast economic growth in 1960s and its growth rate was double than even South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. He added that there was a dire need of success in economic policies with continuity for durable economic growth and prosperity.

Earlier, the Federal Minister was awarded gold medal and a shield by the IBA department. He also distributed shields among the guests and attended the cake cutting ceremony.