Pakistan will not return to boom-and-bust economic cycle: Aurangzeb

He said investment could be promoted through public-private partnerships (PPPs) and privatization, while the government was pursuing an agenda of structural reforms for sustainable economic stability. He said transparency, efficiency and investor confidence would be given priority in the privatization process.

He added that private investment in infrastructure and public service projects would have to be increased through PPPs, while privatization and public-private partnerships were important means of bringing the private sector forward. The finance minister said the partnership between the government and private sector would have to be further strengthened for economic growth.

He said economic stability had been achieved through difficult decisions and now had to be made permanent. Pakistan, he added, would not be allowed to return to the economic cycle of boom and bust. Muhammad Aurangzeb said the overall deficit had declined from 12.5 percent to 2.6 percent, while the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) tax collections had increased significantly.

He said FBR revenue had risen by 40 percent over the past few years, while the tax-to-GDP ratio had increased from 8.8 percent to 10.3 percent. The finance minister said IT services exports stood at $4.6 billion during the last fiscal year, with freelancers contributing $1.6 billion to IT exports.

He said goods exports remained around $30 billion and more work was needed in the sector. He added that reforms were continuing in the energy, state-owned enterprises, taxation and privatization sectors.