‘Pakistan among top 11 growing economies’
Bureau Report

LAHORE—Advisor to Prime Advisor on Finance, Dr. Salman Shah Friday said that Pakistan was internationally considered the country with a potential to become an important economy in the coming years.
“ Pakistan has been included in the club of 11 countries which have the potential to emerge as important players on the world economic scene by the year 2050,” he said whilereferring to the study of international investment expert, Goldman Sachs at the concluding session of Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) at a local hotel.
Goldman Sachs, the founder of BRICS (Brazil,Russia, India and China) concept has come up with the concept of Next-11 (N-11) naming Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, Vietnam as the countries with the potential to become important economies. Advisor to the Prime Minister on finance Dr Suleman Shah has said government is striving to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4.2 percent set in the current fiscal budget. He said this while addressing concluding session of 4-day international conference held here under PSDE and later talking to the journalists Friday.
He held that the proposal on introducing two weekly holidays in government offices is an attempt to save energy. Country is witnessing economic growth on fast track basis, he reiterated. Its energy requirements are increasing at double digit. The energy exports have become cumbersome additional burden which are leading to increase fiscal deficit. The fiscal deficit target has been set 4.2 percent in the current financial year budget. Therefore, the petroleum products prices are not being curtailed to meet this target. Government is already bearing the burden of Rs 15 billion in terms of subsidy allowed by it on the prices of petroleum products. Responding to a question he said if oil prices are decreased remarkably, its benefit will be passed on to the people.
About inflation he said its overall situation is satisfactory. However the prices of vegetables of daily use including potato, tomato and onion have surged considerably due to shortfall caused by the floods in the output of the these crops. However India has bumper crops in this regard and the import of these vegetables from India on fast track basis is causing sharp decline in the prices.
To questions on immense recessional trend in stock market, he said there are many causes behind this. All the developing countries are being affected by imposition of ban on repatriation of foreign exchange from Thailand. Some foreign entrepreneurs are also withdrawing their capital from investment for a short period by the end of the year. The effects of new system of risk management are still there in the market. The wrong speculations being spread on action against the brokers are also affecting the market adversely despite the fact that all the action is being initiated as per law of land.
Earlier speaking in concluding session of conference he said as per international agencies report youths of age group of 19 years and below constitute 54 to 54 percent of the total population of the country. Pakistan can produce a large work force through their grooming on correct lines. The markets are rapidly growing in all the sectors. As per international study, the per capita income if exceeds $300 in any country its market grows at fast pace. The per capita income of Pakistan is about $850. The need is there that country should move to untraditional sectors after the chain of valuation addition of traditional products is completed. Good governance should also be ensured in all the spheres.
“ We have to place special focus on infrastructure development in the fields of health and education. We are spending only 2.5 percent of GDP on education and are planning to increase it to 4 percent”, he underscored.