ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has lauded the decision of the government to sell shares of different bleeding state owned entities (SOEs), including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) with management control.
"Privatization is an integral part of the on-going process of economic reforms, which must be carried out very cautiously," said Naima Ansari, Vice President FPCCI, speaking to the business community here.
She said sale of shares and transfer of management control of the bleeding SOEs would help the government raise billions of rupees to reduce budget deficit, besides saving Rs 500 billion per annum needed to keep these white elephants alive.
She, however, stressed the need of transparency in the privatization so that the history of Pakistan Steel Mills could not be repeated, which kept the privatization process stalled for nine years.
Naima Ansari said that defaulters and developers should be kept away from the whole process and authorities should try to avoid charges of nepotism.
The human and strategic cost must be carefully weighed, as some enterprises were vital for national security while others were critical for providing employment, she added.
She said the government should also dispel the impression that international lenders forced developing countries to sell national assets at throwaway prices.
She said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) could easily collect around Rs 6 trillion in taxes to eliminate all deficits and change the entire economic scene, but it preferred to collect only a fraction of that amount.
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