LAHORE: The Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) on Monday arranged a panel discussion on "development strategies to sustain economic growth."
Speaking on the occasion, PCJCCI President Zarak Khan said that Pakistan should embrace digital changes that are crucial for the long-term development of every business as we have no idea regarding the upcoming crisis of second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first wave of the epidemic hardly hit the small and medium size businesses in the country; he said, adding that there should be brainstorm for the sustainability of economic growth.
He was of the view that China is now 40-50 percent fully digitalized while we can also achieve this goal for the country's economic recovery and development. He said traditional offline businesses are stagnant whereas online business activities are flourishing even in the pandemic era. Therefore, we should encourage the small and medium enterprises for digital transformation.
The other speakers said the Pak-China Chamber is making efforts to promote research and development in the field of digitalization. For instance, traditional business models in the apparel industry have customers to buy clothes. If we use digital tools through R&D, we can change that model and produce clothes based on the needs and preferences of customers. This way, the problem of excess inventory can be eased, he added. We should adopt contemporary techniques and ideas for the sustainable growth of economy, he said.
They said that Chinese companies were enable to generate 70 percent of the revenue of a year; about 300 million yuan ($43.8 million) in a month during the first wave of the pandemic. We, too, should learn from their ideas and modern technology adopted by China in this regard, he said adding that the South China metropolis, which is known for its private sector vitality, is home to more than 2.15 million SMEs, which account for over 99 percent of its total economy.
He urged the SMEs to equip with the same level of digitalization in our business operations that will minimize the negative impact of any pandemic like Covid-19 or epidemic like Dengue in Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020