Textile minister’s efforts towards notifying TUF scheme lauded

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Mohsin Aziz has lauded the efforts of Minister for Textile Industry Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din and the Governor the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for notifying the technology up gradation fund (TUF) scheme for textile industry.

Chairman APTMA said investment support to textile industry under the TUF scheme was a longstanding demand of textile industry. He said he had also stressed the demand in his speech at the presidency during the annual dinner of APTMA.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has instructed banks/ development finance institutions (DFIs) for processing of claims for provision of markup and investment support to textile industry. Under the Scheme, the government will reimburse 50 percent of markup subject to a maximum of five percent p.a., whichever is less.

However, a single company registered as a separate legal entity will be eligible for a maximum markup support of Rs 50 million per annum for each sub sector.

He said allocation of funds for the TUF scheme would pave the way for undertaking BMR/Greenfield projects subject to the availability of uninterrupted energy, both gas and electricity, supply.

Mohsin said the efforts of Minister Text’ile Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din are highly commendable and expressed the hope that he would continue supporting textile industry with similar spirit in future. He has also appreciated the Governor State Bank of Pakistan for understanding the need for investment in the textile subsectors, already lagging behind in the region for competing in the international marketplace.

However, Chairman APTMA pointed out that more deliberations are required on a little more relaxation on investment support.

He said this facility should be extended to five years on the basis of depreciated value of the project instead of restricting it to one time. It will encourage self finance and equity bases projects in the industry, he added.

Also, he has urged the Ministry of Finance to allocate as well as release adequate funds at the earliest so that the banks can start processing the industry claims without any further delay.