World Bank Foreign Investment Advisory Service Mission Senior Consultant Sheri A Pitigala said here on Friday that the mission would submit its draft report on bottlenecks hindering investment in Pakistan and proposed solutions to these bottlenecks to World Bank Head Office by April this year.
Speaking at a meeting with Site Association of Industry (SAI) she said that the members of the mission are conducting a study to identify specific areas, bureaucratic hindrance and other impediments which are hampering investment in Pakistan.
She said that the mission is on two weeks stay in Pakistan to survey over 600 industries, consult trade bodies, take feedback from bureaucrats about conducting business and cost of doing business in Pakistan.
She said that the study would propose ways of redressing problems faced in doing business in Pakistan including bureaucratic hindrances.
She said that the study includes company registration process, licensing, site allocation, and inspections by government agencies, imports, exports, duty structures, cost of doing business, labour and labour laws etc.
Private Sector Development Analyst (WB) Fatima Zehra Shah said the basic purpose of visiting SAI is to know the obstacles business community faces in carrying on business activities.
"We like to get cross-section views including foreign investors, industrialists including small, medium and large so that we should identify key areas for reforms," she added.
She said that this time the proposed reforms would be implemented in Pakistan to make investment environment conducive for investors.
She said that in May or June, 2004, the mission members will return back to Pakistan and hold workshops on public-private sector dialogues and reforming hindrances of doing business in Pakistan.
Welcoming the guests, Muhammad Nisar Shekhani, Chairman, SAI, said that the government should work as facilitator rather than regulator of businesses.
He said that the condition of doing business improved a little bit during present government and added that still large reforms were needed to make investment environment attractive for investors.
He pointed out that power, gas, telephone (local phone charges) rates in Pakistan are higher as compared to its competitors in the region. He said that government officials have vast discretionary powers and they, off and on, use them, which hampers business activities.
There are 27 government agencies visiting industries and creating problems in business activities, he added.
He said that the government should provide level playing field to business community to enable it to compete successfully against rivals in the world.
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