ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said the government was keen to resolve all issues of investors so that they could support government’s efforts to achieve higher growth and generate employment opportunities in the country.

He said the government was determined to expanding the tax base and will ban grant of tax exemptions so as to provide a level playing field.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance here Friday, the minister briefed the US investors and businessmen regarding economic situation of Pakistan, under the auspices of US-Pakistan Business Council (USPBC), in Washington DC.

Attracting the investment was one of the top priorities of the government as it was not possible to achieve higher growth target without increasing investment to GDP ratio in the economy, he added.

The Finance Minister also apprised the US investors about positive economic growth indicators saying that the growth rate that averaged around 3 percent in the five years of the previous government has risen by 4.14 percent in last year and is projected to rise 5.1 percent during current fiscal year.

Inflation, he said, which had averaged around 12 percent in the previous government, was brought down to 8.6 percent in 2013-14 and is now projected to decline further to about 5 percent in 2014-15, which will be the lowest in the last ten years.

Low inflation will increase purchasing power of the people of Pakistan which bodes well for investors, he remarked.

Dar shared that the tax revenues were up in the first year of the incumbent government by 16.44 percent rising from Rs1,946 billion to Rs2,266 billion.

This strong performance, he said, has been punctuated during the current fiscal year with a revenue growth of 13 percent until end-March, compared to last year, despite a massive decline in oil prices that adversely affected the tax collection from the petroleum sector.

The minister highlighted that reduction in inflation enabled SBP to reduce Discount Rate to 8 percent which is lowest in the last ten years. He further said that this will provide a golden opportunity to investors to undertake capital expenditure and expand production capacity.

Furthermore in order to boost private sector borrowing, government has decided not to use central bank’s credit for financing budget deficit which will reduce crowding out of private investment.

Ishaq Dar said that it was a good news for investors that SBP reserves were over $11.8 billion while commercial banks reserves were around $5.1 billion. He expressed confidence that the Balance of Payments position will improve further and the current account deficit will be brought to under 1 percent of GDP.

He said that the Pakistani Diaspora had shown great confidence in government’s economic policies which was evident from remittances which had crossed $17.24 billion in last 12 months showing an increase of 16 percent over last year.

He said Exchange Rate has depicted remarkable stability and appreciation under the current government, which is a good omen for investors. Also the government was committed to implement its privatization agenda and in this regard the just concluded HBL divestment of $764 million was a feather in government’s cap.

Dar said that Karachi Stock Exchange Index, which stood at 19,916 on 11 May 2013, the day the elections were held, has continuously scaled new heights and stood at 32,248 on 13 April 2015, showing an increase of nearly 62 percent.

On the other hand, the market capitalization increased from Rs.5.0 trillion to Rs.7.1 trillion for the same period, showing an increase of 42 percent, while in dollar terms it increased from $51 billion to nearly $70 billion, showing an increase of 37 percent. He further said that the investors and businessmen should be encouraged by the recognition of Government’s achievements by independent institutions like the IMF, the World Bank and the ADB.

Similarly, Moody’s has improved Pakistan’s rating outlook first from negative to stable and then, more recently, from stable to positive. Moreover Japan’s Trade Organization, Peter O’Neil, the British Economist, and Morgan Stanley have all predicted that Pakistan will soon be one of the most significant economies in the world, he added.—APP