Report on Pakistan’s competitiveness launched

[Neo]

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Report on Pakistan’s competitiveness launched

* Competitiveness must for achieving real economic growth: PM
* Says era of refunds and rebates over

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that all the stakeholders, including the government, private sector and civil society, have to adjust to the changing global atmosphere and reposition themselves to compete the international players for a real economic progress.

Speaking at the launching of first report of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) on the “State of Pakistan's Competitiveness 2007” in Islamabad on Monday, the prime minister said that the report was a wake up call for all the stakeholders. The CSF is a joint venture of the Ministry of Finance and US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Aziz said that the era of refunds and rebates was over and the private sector was now required to be competitive and meet the new challenges. He said that the government was committed to ensuring improved competitiveness and enhanced productivity to make Pakistan a real player in the globalised economy and the private sector must come forward and take the lead in this regard.

“If we continue to be doing in next 20 years what we were doing in last 20 years then we will be out of the business,” Aziz said.

He said competitiveness was the cornerstone of Pakistan's growth strategy every step would be taken to improve to make all the sectors competitive. Aziz described the launching of the report as a defining moment for marching towards a bright future of the country and urged all the stakeholders, including government, private sector and the civil society to rise to the occasion.

Elaborating fundamentals for enhanced competitiveness, Aziz said these included innovation, improvement of infrastructure, strong macro-economic policies, provision of improved education and health services, market efficiency, availability of skilled labour and devolution of power. He said the government was on its way to provide world-class infrastructure and quality education besides better health services.

He said that a lot of efforts had been made during the last seven years, which have resulted in making the economy vibrant, but there was a long way to go to achieve the desire goals. He stressed for institutionalizing the structural reforms for a smooth and sustainable economic progress through promoting competitiveness.

Aziz said that the government was encouraging the private sector to take the charge of commercial activities. He said the government had opened the doors for everyone and it was making the processes easier to ensure expeditious investment in the country. He said $25 million competitiveness fund would provide all out facilities to the private and public sector to improve their efficiency.

Answering questions, Aziz said the CSF would continue its surveys with a view to improving efficiency and productivities of all the sectors. He said the agricultural business was unused opportunity that needed attention of the private sector as it could help provide jobs to the people in the rural areas and improve their living standards.

In his remarks, Dr Salman Shah, advisor to the prime minister on finance, highlighted the objectives of the fund and said improving the competitiveness of the country's economy will in turn help achieve the ambitious rates of economic growth. He said that the government was trying to improve Pakistan’s international competitiveness ranking from 91 in 2005 to around 70 in 2010.

In their brief remarks, Michael Porter, chairman World Economic Forum, Dr. Klaus Schwab, Director Hong Kong Institute of Economics, Prof. Michael Enright and chief executive officer of the CSF Arthur Bayhan commended economic achievements of Pakistan during the past few years and hoped that these efforts would continue to make the economic growth more expeditious and sustainable.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\13\story_13-3-2007_pg5_1

 

[Neo]

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Improvement in provinces’ productivity needed: report

* Dynamic private sector, efficient bureaucracy, free media, independent judiciary must to increase competitiveness, says the State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness 2007 report

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: The State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness 2007 report has highlighted that to increase the competitiveness of Pakistan, it is necessary to improve the productivity of its provinces, which will require a coordinated efforts at the federal, provincial, district and municipal level.

It has also pointed out that sustained economic growth could only be achieved with a dynamic private sector, efficient bureaucracy, free media, and an independent judiciary.

The report The State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness 2007, launched during a ceremony chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz here at Prime Minister Secretariat on Monday, revealed that institutions and regulations are slow and burdensome, labour and capital markets are inefficient, infrastructure and skills require upgrading and make growth possible, and standards of production and quality must be brought up to international levels.

The implementation of the recommendations of the report would likely lead to an increase in Pakistan’s competitiveness rankings by 8-10 places per year to between 60 and 65 on the GCI by 2010.

More importantly, it will mean that Pakistan was successful in implementing a variety of competitiveness related initiatives and has made progress toward its goal of rapid economic growth, accelerated poverty reduction and improved standards of living. This in turn will provide for a stronger and more self-reliant economy.

Pakistan’s economy is growing rapidly, driven by its large product markets and favorable demographics. To leverage this potential, Pakistan faces the economic challenge of achieving outward competitive advantage to enter global markets or to maintain and expand its markets that are becoming every day more competitive.

Improving the competitiveness of Pakistan’s economy will in turn help achieve the ambitious rates of economic growth that have been set as goals and targets. This, in turn, will ensure continued gains in poverty reduction and help ensure that those who have recently emerged from poverty do not slip back into its grip. This is a moral imperative in addition to an economic challenge.

Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of Competitive Support Fund in his presentation discussed the state of Pakistan’s competitiveness in the light of Global Competitiveness Report 2006 which states that the first pillar relates to institutions and has weightage of 12.5% in determination of country’s ranking. According to this pillar Pakistan has made improvement in six areas and situation has deteriorated even more in the five areas.

The improved areas include diversion of public funds to investment it improved from 74 in year 2005 to 67 in year 2006, public trust in government has improved from 83 to 55 in 2006, judicial independence have improved to some extent and it moved from 87 to 80 in 2006, favoritism in decisions of government officials 68 in 2005 to 52 in 2006, wastefulness of government spending and 48 to 42 in 2006 and business cost of terrorism the standing of the country improved from 94 in year 2005 to 55 in year 2006.

The report reveals that Pakistan’s ranking in property rights protection have weakened from 87 in 2005 to 95 in year 2006, burden of government regulation have increased and country’s ranking have weakened from 101 in 2005 to 122 in year 2006, ethical behavior of the firms have weakened raking from 44 to 82 in year 2006, efficiency of corporate boards have also weakened the country’s ranking from 116 in year 2005 to 123 in year 2006 and protection of minority shareholders interest in private sector have also weakened and the ranking of the country deteriorated from 27 in year 2005 to 57 in year 2006.

Pakistan received a Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) ranking of 91st place in 2006 improving from 94th place in 2005, out of a total 125 countries. The GCI has nine sub-components where Pakistan is batter than some regional countries and weak as compared to some countries. In the area of institutions the first pillar Pakistan is batter with 79th than China 80th and weak against India 34th. In the area of infrastructure second pillar Pakistan stands behind with 67th than India 62 and China 60. In the area of Macro economy Pakistan stands at 86th China 50th and India 88th. In the area of health and primary education the fourth pillar Pakistan is behind with raking of 108th, India 95th and China at 55th. In the area of higher education and training the 5th pillar Pakistan stands at 104th with China at 77 and India at 49th. In the area of market efficiency the 6th pillar Pakistan is at 54th with China at 56th and India at 21st. In the area of technological readiness 7th pillar Pakistan is behind with 89th China with 75th and India with 55th ranking. In the area of business sophistication 8th pillar Pakistan is ranked at 66th, China at 65th and India at 25 in the world. In the area of innovation the ninth pillar Pakistan is behind with 60th ranking and China at 46th and India 26th.

According to Global Competitiveness Report 2006, Pakistan is out performing India in 15 areas, the state of Pakistan Competitiveness 2007 report states that situation in Pakistan in hiring and firing practices is batter than India, other areas where Pakistan is doing batter are time required to start business, interest rate spread, real effective exchange rate, government efficiency (red tape, bureaucracy and waste of public funds), quality of port structure, market flexibility, public trust of politicians, burden of government regulations, overall infrastructure quality, government debt to GDP ration, macroeconomy, quality of electricity supply, malaria prevalence and government surplus or deficit.

The State of Pakistan Competitiveness 2007 report reveals that India is outperforming Pakistan in 12 areas in Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). These areas include efficiency of corporate boards, extent of staff training, prevalence of foreign technological licensing, and intensity of local competition, buyer sophistication, local supplier quantity, venture capital availability, local supplier quality, production process sophistication and decree of customer orientation.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\13\story_13-3-2007_pg5_2

 

[Moin91]

you write long post & to read your post i havn't time

 

[Neo]

What ails Karachi’s investment climate?

By Imran Ayub

KARACHI: A United States body in collaboration with local authorities have found major deficiencies, which are blocking investment in Karachi and may distract business from the city known as the country’s economic engine.

In the first State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report prepared by the Competitiveness Support Fund a joint venture between United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Pakistan’s finance ministry several areas were indicated through surveys of businessmen and constraints to investing in Karachi.

“A distorted land market that has reduced the land available for commercial and residential use,” says the recently-launched report. “The major impediments arise from unclear property rights, inappropriate zoning laws, pro-tenant legislations and high taxes on property related transactions.”

It also blames such causes for delays and costs of enforcing contracts. However, the report finds the issue is being addressed by judicial reforms that will increase the number of judges, provide them with additional and more specialised training, especially for dealing with commercial disputes and other measures, such as increasing the non-salary budget for police investigations and enforcement.

The report also discusses deficiencies in urban infrastructure, especially electricity, water supply, and sanitation in the metropolis, which contributes around 65 per cent and sometime 70 per cent of total federal revenue collections.

“This requires a combination of efforts by the central and the provincial governments,” says the competitiveness report. “Major investments in electricity generation and transmission are in the works, while the devolved local governments are focusing on improvements to water supply and sanitation.”

The report which was launched a few days ago by the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was termed as an important step to focus the energies of the nation around the common goal of making the country a stronger economy.

The CSF report, which finds some obstacles in smooth execution of business regulation and Pakistani economy, came a few days after the World Economic Forum recognised the economic achievements of the country in the latest Global Competitiveness Report, ranking Pakistan 66th on the Business Competitiveness Index out of 125 countries.

The CFS report chapter exclusively over may help understanding local industry’s concerns related to investment in the port city, which houses five major industrial estates and offers highest rate of return.

“Although the problems of non-Karachi urban Sindh in some respects resemble those affecting Karachi, particularly as regards deficiencies in infrastructure especially electricity supply, a number of city-specific issues need special attention,” said the report.

“Thus, in the second and third largest cities in Sindh (Hyderabad and Sukkur), businessmen identified the lack of skilled labour as their main problem, while access to land ranked lower.”

Again, the report said, entrepreneurs in the interior of Sindh viewed law and order as the chief disincentive to investment. The situation was said to be stabilising, but a perception problem remained, it added.

The Sindh government is already in agreement with through a memorandum of understanding with the CSF aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of industries in the country.

Established as a joint initiative of the federal ministry of finance and the USAID, the CSF supports goal of a more competitive economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks and working to enhance public-private partnerships within the country.

The CSF also provides technical assistance and co-financing for initiatives related to entrepreneurship and the private sector with research institutes, universities and business incubators that contribute to creating a knowledge-driven economy.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=47124

 

[HASEEB66]

well MQM and the chief minister governor are already misusing land especially the new nazim(mayor) city mustafa

 

[Neo]

Monday, March 19, 2007

Removing barriers to investment

The “State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness” report, released last week, focuses on some of the major constraints to investment in the country. The report has been prepared by the Competitiveness Support Fund, a joint venture between the US government’s aid agency and Pakistan’s ministry of finance. The report, which is the first of its kind, has focused on Karachi to make a point about problems faced by investors. It talks in particular about the distorted land and real estate market of the country’s business and commercial capital. It points out that land available for commercial and residential use is very limited owing to a number of factors and that is perceived as a barrier to new investment. These factors include property rights, inappropriate zoning laws, pro-tenant law and high taxes on property-related transactions. The report also talks about deficiencies in urban infrastructure, especially the electricity and water supply networks and comments on the city’s inadequate and outdated sanitation system. It makes it a point to state that Karachi contributes on an average about 70 per cent of federal revenues, but only a fraction seems to be put back into its infrastructure by the federal government. Without going into the debate on how much Islamabad should pump into Karachi given its commercial importance, the very fact that land and infrastructure issues have been highlighted as an impediment to investment in the city is worthy of some comment.

While much has been promised, very little has been done to address the problem of unclear property rights. The city government is yet to computerise the city’s property records. At present, given the manner in which records are maintained, problems of fraud and duplication of documents are common. Property taxes as well as fees charged on change of ownership of property may not be very high but the cost of transactions, given corruption in the departments concerned, makes the final figure much higher. This also scares away foreign investors who are required to comply with transparency-related home regulations. The city government has also not worked at launching new industrial schemes and commercial areas despite the immense interest in this from various quarters. As a result, rentals and costs of property in such areas is very high even by regional standards.

As if all this was not enough, the infrastructure offered in return is poor. Power and water problems exist, and these drive away serious industrial investors who want to set up industrial and manufacturing plants. The law and order situation in the city coupled with the bad state of roads, problems with obtaining permissions to start a business and the general apathy shown by the government towards such entrepreneurs only convinces potential investors to put their money elsewhere. This state of affairs is not particular to Karachi. Other large cities and towns across the country face similar problems. The government should wake up to this reality and make a serious and long-term effort to address these issues. Unless this is done, investment from both foreign and local sources will continue to elude the country which would be a shame considering how much Pakistan has to offer in return.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=47432

 

[Neo]

First Ever Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report Launched

The first State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report was launched today by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shaukat Aziz at the PM secretariat.

Islamabad (PRWEB) March 30, 2007 -- The first State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report was launched today by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shaukat Aziz at the PM secretariat. The report is prepared by the Competitiveness Support Fund , a joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The first State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report is an important step to focus the energies of the nation around the common goal of making Pakistan a stronger economy. It also makes a historic contribution to the country and announces to the international business community that Pakistan intends to become a competitive and high-growth country

The World Economic Forum recognized the economic achievements of the Government of Pakistan in the latest Global Competitiveness Report.Pakistan ranked 66th on the Business Competitiveness Index which shows the market efficiency and 91st out of 125 countries, on the Global Competitiveness Index that includes governance, health and education in the 2006-2007 Global Competitiveness Report. Not only did Pakistan score well on the Business Competitiveness Index, it also increased its rank by several places among the 125 nations on the Global Competitiveness Index.

Prime Minister, in his speech, noted that “the first State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report is an important step to focus the energies of the nation around the common goal of making Pakistan a stronger economy. It also makes a historic contribution to the country and announces to the international business community that Pakistan intends to become a competitive and high-growth country”. “Competitiveness is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s growth strategy”, said the prime minister.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister said that competitiveness is the cornerstone of economic growth which generates more employment and reduces poverty. Prime Minister said that all arms of the government and the private sector will have to be involved to improve Pakistan's ranking in the global competitiveness index.

The Prime Minister in his speech said the CSF would work in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and The US Competitiveness Council and the Lisbon Agenda of the European Union. He said during his recent visit to Davos he held useful meetings with the world leaders, including Mr. Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum as well as Prof. Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School about the ways and means to improve competitiveness.

Prof. Michael Porter, Harvard’s expert on competitiveness and engineer of one of the Business Competitiveness Index, commented on the country’s achievements in his video message at the launching ceremony of the report by saying, “Pakistan also shows impressive movement in some of the most dynamic indicators on the Business Competitiveness Index which bodes well for future economic growth. I commend the Prime Minister and his team for their steady stewardship of the Pakistan economy over recent years. Their efforts to catalyze pro-poor economic growth set an example for other dynamic, high- growth economies across the world.”

Dr. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairman, World Economic Forum also in his video message from Davos
said, “The World Economic Forum has for over a generation published the Global Competitiveness Report that has benchmarked the evolution of competitiveness in many countries. The World Economic Forum has included Pakistan in its Competitiveness Report for some years now. During this time, the Government of Pakistan has achieved impressive rates of economic growth and impressive reductions in poverty, despite conflicts on its borders, natural disasters and energy price increases.”

However, it has not been until January of 2007 that there has been an in depth analysis of Pakistan’s competitiveness conducted in the country. Pakistan now has its own State of Competitiveness in Pakistan report that can benchmark the progress of the country in achieving goals. The results validate the government efforts to improve public sector management. The biggest gains came in areas that have been the focus of recent Government reforms. Interest rate spreads the major indicator of financial sector efficiency, improved markedly. Indicators such as public trust in Government officials and capacity for innovation improved notably.

Dr. Salman Shah noted that the Competitiveness Support Fund seeks to finance practical initiatives to reposition Pakistan’s economy regionally and globally and set it on a more competitive footing. The result will be higher productivity, increased innovation, and an economy that is integrated into global value chains and can compete internationally.

Mission Director USAID Pakistan, Jonathan Addleton, reiterated on the occasion USAID’s long-term support for competitiveness and economic growth activities in Pakistan.

Mr. Arthur Bayhan, CEO of the Competitiveness Support Fund , in his presentation briefed the audience about the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report on Pakistan and other countries. In particular, he highlighted the importance of the provincial and local leaders to be part of the competitiveness dialogue. The Competitiveness Support Fund is working directly with each region in addressing the key competitiveness issues at the regional level. “The challenge of building competitiveness goes beyond what can be accomplished by the Government’s economic team alone and requires the active support and participation of the regional and local leaders, academia and private sector leaders,” noted Bayhan.

Mr. Bayhan in his presentation about the salient features of Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) said Pakistan has been consistently improving in terms of competitiveness and dynamism. He said “in Pakistan, the government is the agent and catalyst for change and driving the private sector.” He said that the private sector of Pakistan needs to work more on developing the medium and long-term strategies as one of the many steps to improve its competitiveness. He urged also all the government agencies and non-governmental organization to update the data and submit it to international sources.

The Report will serve as an important benchmark against which to measure change in the future.

The event was attended by cabinet members, corporate and business leaders, legislators, senior civil servants and intellectuals from academia and research institutes. The event was also witnessed by a large number of national and international media representatives as well.

Media Contact:
Amir Jahangir
+92-30-08555161
www.competitiveness.org.pk

http://prweb.com/releases/State_of_Pakistans/Competitiveness_Report/prweb511037.htm