Millions of people are employed by SMEs, says Mian Zahid Hussain
Tariq Khattak
ISLAMABAD: Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday said a plan should be made for the rehabilitation of SMEs that have suffered from floods.
Central and provincial governments, commercial banks, NDMA, PDMA, and Smeda should work together for the purpose while the central bank should pave the way for cheap loans for the affected sectors.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that it is difficult to estimate the damage caused to SMEs but could be twice the 2010 super flood.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that post-flood recovery will be a challenge but it is necessary so that the key sector can play its role in national development. The government has limited resources and hence it should seek loans from international financial institutions to revive the SME sector with the help of cheap loans, he demanded.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that the paperwork for loans should be simplified to enable the SME sector to get loans without hassle.Currently, there are eleven small chambers in the country and around five million SMEs are working in the manufacturing, trading and services sector, their share in GDP is up to 40% while 25% of exports are also owed to this sector.
SMEs involved in manufacturing have suffered the most due to recent disasters. Many SMEs are still deprived of electricity, gas and labour, while the owners of many are hoping to recover the losses.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that all the small chambers across the country should be included in the consultation and if the rehabilitation of SMEs is delayed, production, exports and productivity will be affected, while millions of people whose employment is related to SMEs will face more difficulties and the revenue of FBR will also decrease.
