Privatisation key for achieving economic stability, says FinMin

As Pakistan prepares for bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday stressed the importance of privatization to achieve economic stability.
“If you want economic stability at home, you have to move towards privatisation,” Aurangzeb said at a pre-budget conference in Lahore for 2024-25.
The statement prompted the government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to privatize a number of state-owned enterprises (BUMN) in an effort to deal with the strain on the treasury and combat the financial crisis caused by various worsening economic conditions.
The finance minister pointed to improved economic indicators, with the current account deficit (CAD) shrinking below $1 billion and inflation falling, along with an “all-time high” stock market, noting that the private sector has mobilized alongside the government. level
Stating that Pakistan now has about 8-10 trillion in cash circulation, the finance minister said there is a need to work on issues related to taxation and gross domestic product (GDP) and urged businessmen to net taxes. I have not
Assuring that the government will provide all kinds of facilities, the minister said that the authorities will not back down from their position in expanding the tax net.
“People think that if they enter the tax net, they will suffer for no reason, but it doesn’t matter, because we will provide facilities, we will negotiate, but we can’t go back on the road.”
It is pertinent to know that the federal government has ordered the prohibition of SIM cards that are not listed in the active list of taxpayers but do not have a filter to file income tax returns for the tax year in order to prevent tax evasion. 2023.
Aggrieved by the failure and lack of implementation of the track system, Aurangzeb doubled down on the unified power tariff for the industry and called it “fair” demand.
“The industry cannot operate at 25-25% interest rates,” he said.
Emphasizing the need to eradicate electricity theft, the minister said that the government made the necessary changes in the board of distribution companies (Disko) and the private sector would be implemented in this regard.