Pak economy ripe for growth, poverty reduction: WB

LONDON—World Bank’s Country Director for Pakistan John Wall has said here late Monday Pakistan has successfully laid the groundwork for a “sustained growth and poverty reduction” in the country. He was speaking at a reception hosted by the
Pakistan Society in honour of Governor State Bank Dr. Ishrat Hussain here which was attended by Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, bankers and businessmen including Steve Chesan senior Portfolio Manager Moore Capital Management, Jeremy Thort Director Banking Association and Iain Pickard Marsh Marsh Insurance, Chief Insurance Operating Officer.
John Wall praised President Musharraf’s government for its success in restoring the investors confidence and billed it a “great success,” adding “there has been a tidal change in the past five years from the situation” inherited by it. “Improving investors confidence was one of the major goals of this Government that has been met with great success,” said Wall and added there had been progressive rise in Pakistan’s external credit ratings. He said there had been the rapid rise in imports of investment and intermediate goods that is pushing the import growth rate to 35 per cent or more. Referring to the steps taken by the Government , Wall said GDP had grown to over 8 per cent and “Foreign exchange reserves grew from neglible to more than four four months of imports. Domestic borrowing interest rates have fallen from 16 per cent or more to less than 10 per cent. Public debt has fallen from around 100 per cent to about 60 per cent and is still falling.”
The official said the continuity of the policy during last five years had reduced trade protection and had improved the business environment while the “low interest rates had resulted in an increase in both domestic and foreign investment.” He praised the privatization policy of the Government and said the commercial banks were growing both their “business and their profits with astounding results. Many of the commercial banks have reported growth in profits close to 100 per cent and the best is still to come, with borrowing rates rising faster than desposit rates.”
Wall said the deregulation of the telecom sector and sale of PTCL had produced “an explosion of players — mobile phones, cable television, radio stations, internet service providers and many others.” Referring to the progress made during the last five years, he said, “puts optimism in the ascendant.” He said the big business opportunities in Pakistan “will come in the next 10 years.Sustaining GDP growth of above 6 per cent per annum and reducing poverty from 35 per cent to 15 per cent in the next 10 years will bring about a social transformation that will throw Pakistan into a fit of modernization.”
John Wall also praised Punjab’s educational reforms saying it was getting “good results in terms of dramatic enrollment by a comprehensive program of rehabilitation of schooling and providing better incentives.” Punjab Government had introduced incentives for free tuition, free books and Rs.200 per month stipends to middle and secondary school girl students in low literacy districts. “ Perhaps most revolutionary of all, the Punjab Education Foundation has been restructured to provide schooling grants for low cost private (including non-governmental) schooling,” said the Director World Bank.—APP.