ISLAMABAD, DEC 30 (DNA) – The government was working aggressively to develop a Pakistan Business Portal which would be a virtual one-stop-shop platform and would reduce lot of compliance requirements for businesses and facilitate better growth of business activities. All the business related public sector organizations would be integrated with Pakistan Business Portal so that instead of going to various organizations, businesses could get registrations and licenses at one-stop shop.

This was said by Mukarram Jah Ansari, Additional Secretary, Board of Investment while giving a presentation on reforms measures being undertaken by the BOI to improve Ease of Doing Business and Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative (PMRI) to facilitate investment and business activities in the country. Sialkot, Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi and other Chambers of Commerce & Industry also joined the presentation through video link.

Mukarram Jah Ansari said that with the implementation of new reforms, Pakistan would hopefully be included in the top 90 economies of the world in ease of doing business ranking 2021. He acknowledged that businesses in Pakistan were facing high burden of regulatory requirements and the aim of PMRI was to reduce compliance burden and cost on businesses by eliminating unnecessary procedures and processes.  He said that mapping of 550 business regulations has been done for analysis, simplification, elimination of unnecessary laws and said that all systems and procedures would be automated for the facilitation of the business community. He said that soon, there would be a Single Window facility for registration of businesses that would be communicated to all relevant departments and organizations through an integrated system. He said that changing the mind-set and behaviour of people took time, therefore, the government was focusing on changing the procedures and processes to address problems and facilitate the businesses. He said that reforms under PMRI would be completed by 2023 in consultation with the private sector and the purpose of holding this online session with other chambers of commerce from ICCI was a part of getting their input to further improve the reforms process.

Speaking at the occasion, Fatma Azim, Acting President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry appreciated the Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative of BOI and said that this process should be completed on fast track so that the private sector could start reaping the fruits of these reforms. She said that the business community was the backbone of the economy and the government should provide them maximum facilitation to make Pakistan a hub of business and investment activities.

Abdul Rehman Khan, Vice President ICCI appreciated the initiative of BOI for holding an awareness session on PMRI at ICCI and said more such sessions should be held at ICCI by taking all major chambers of commerce on board. He also thanked the participating chambers and hoped that this session would be quite beneficial for them. The representatives of various chambers also asked various questions and shared their suggestions with BOI for further improving the reform measures.=DNA

============================

DNA

KARACHI, Dec 30 – The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (PIAF) Chairman Mian Nauman Kabir has asked the central bank to get its policies implemented in true spirit to provide financial support to the trade and industry, as the SBP initiatives are very encouraging but implementation is not up to the mark. 

Mian Nauman Kabir, in a joint statement with vice chairman Javed Siddiqi said that with regards to the ease of doing business, the central bank has taken a number of proactive measures like encouraging banks to facilitate borrowers by offering products as per their needs and demands. 

“The business community urges the State Bank to check the performances and customer services of commercial banks, as the central bank is a watchdog on these banks. The banks don’t give loans to SMEs, particularly the women entrepreneurs and common customers, who are treated badly,” he added. 

He suggested the SBP to check the profits of all banks, besides monitoring of loans they disperse among the SMEs, farmers and businesswomen.  

“The PIAF has not seen any revolutionary step from the present SBP governor, recommending him to push the commercial banks to pick board of directors also from SME sector instead of taking from big corporate sector.” 

“We appreciate the SBP for huge rate cut that helped the federal government borrow at a cheaper cost from banks through the sale of treasury bills and bonds. Interest rate slashing also aims to help the government make large cash transfers to daily-wagers and bear the cost of refinance offered to banks that make subsidized loans to households and businesses. 

Mian Nauman said that the best part of such refinancing to banks relates to the subsidized lending to big companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for keeping their employees on payroll amidst the disruption in economic activities, which is really appreciable. 

PIAF chairman said the SBP has taken a number of steps to mitigate the impact of Covid–19 on economic growth. Since the onset of pandemic-related economic pressure, the central bank has reduced policy rate from 13.25 per cent to 7pc, he said. He added that the central bank also allowed one-year extension in principal payments along with rescheduling and restructuring of loans without affecting the credit history of borrowers, which is right step in the right direction. 

Mian Nauman said that the SBP’s system was fully equipped to explore the untapped potential of local market but the commercial banks policies and strategies are not fully aligned with the central bank as they have different policies and priorities which need to be checked by the regulator. 

PIAF vice chairman Javed Siddiqi hailed several other measures taken by the SBP to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 while stressing the importance of provision of business-friendly environment. “But the ground reality is that on one side government is striving for industrialization and on the other commercial banks are creating problems and red-tapism in loans provision,” he said. “Every bank has a standard policy, as most of the banks do not entertain the customers in their true spirit.” 

It is good that the SBP has formed a Steering Committee on Housing and Construction Finance chaired by SBP governor to support government’s efforts to promote housing and construction sector and has assigned mandatory targets to banks to extend mortgage loans and financing for developers and builders. He also called for simplifying construction loan policies and enhancement in their limits, as expenses have risen manifold.

ISLAMABAD – Owing to the phase-wise shutting down and the restarting of the economy due to the pandemic, Pakistan’s automotive industry has had a series of highs and lows in 2020. Fortunately, the auto-sector not only managed to prevail through it all but also welcomed new entrants to its market.

Here is a list of all the vehicles that were supposed to have debuted in Pakistan this year:

Note: As per our knowledge, their launches have merely been delayed and are likely to hit the road within the first quarter of 2021.

BAIC Lineup

The Chinese state-owned automaker, BAIC, would have made a huge splash in Pakistan this year in partnership with Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SEWL). It had showcased three vehicles, the D20 hatchback, the X25 Crossover, and the BJ40 SUV, in February at the PAPS 2020 Autoshow in Lahore.

All three had a decent range of features and performance figures on paper, but what was most enticing was their individual prices. They were all priced significantly below the competition and offered a strong value for money.

Sources from the company at the auto show told ProPakistani that the vehicles would debut in the market from mid-to-late 2020, but the company has mostly been silent on all platforms since then. The last announcement from Sazgar BAIC was via a Facebook post in which it wished everyone “Eid Mubarak” on Eid-ul-Fitr, which was again followed by complete silence.

Given that the Automotive Development Policy (ADP) 2016-21 will end after the first quarter 0f 2020, it is assumed that the Sazgar BAIC will make its debut then.

Toyota Corolla Cross

Reports on the internet during mid-2020 had stated that Toyota would launch a new crossover SUV in Pakistan to  challenge the Toyota C-HR (both share the same underpinnings), the Honda Vezel/HR-V, the Nissan Juke, the Suzuki Vitara, and other compact crossover SUVs.

The Corolla Cross has the right amount of power, a decent performance, a good number of safety and comfort features, and is aesthetically pleasing. However, it seemed to receive a cold response, especially after it was learned that it would have a starting price of Rs. 8.5 million, making it more expensive than a base-trim Toyota Fortuner which is a mid-size 7 seater SUV.

Considering that the Corolla Cross will be sold in Pakistan as a Complete Built-up Unit (CBU) imported from Thailand and that it has a hybrid powertrain, it explains why its price is so high.

Earlier reports had suggested that it would be sold in Pakistan by the end of December 2020 but according to recent updates, Toyota Indus plans to put it on sale in January 2021.

Chery QQ/United Alpha

It had been revealed about a month ago that United Motors intends to bring the Chery QQ back to Pakistan as the ‘United Alpha’.

The automaker already has the 800cc Bravo hatchback in its lineup to compete with the Suzuki Alto and Prince Pearl, but it now seeks to challenge Kia Picanto and the Suzuki Cultus with its new 1000cc subcompact hatchback.

United Alpha is a Chinese hatchback that was launched by Karakoram Motors over 10 years ago as the Chery QQ. However, due to the highly competitive hatchback segment that had featured the Suzuki Mehran, the Daihatsu Cuore, the Chevrolet Joy, the Hyundai Santro, and the Fiat Uno among others that had been vying for the lion’s share of the market, the QQ had failed to impress and was thus discontinued.

This time around, United Motors sees the current lack of variety as an opportunity to strike again. It had originally planned to debut the car in late December but has postponed it to the first week of January 2021.

Hyundai Elantra

Pakistan offers a good market for the Hyundai Elantra because its compact sedan segment has been lacking a third option for almost more than a decade. The vehicle is a compact sedan that has gone up against the Toyota Corolla, the Honda Civic, and Mazda 3 in the international market.

The Elantra had also been displayed at the PAPS Autoshow 2020 and had drawn a huge crowd because of its sharp design. A source from Hyundai Nishat had told ProPakistani at the show that the Elantra would be debuted before the end of 2020. However, the lockdowns have since put a damper on the plan.

According to recent news that has been confirmed by ProPakistani, Hyundai Nishat has already assembled some units of the Elantra and is planning to put it on sale in the first quarter of 2021. The vehicle is also reportedly loaded with specs and features that are similar to those of the internationally-sold Elantras.

However, the entire package is likely to come at a hefty price. Internationally, the Elantra costs between $18,000 and $22,000 for different trims, which is almost between Rs. 2.8 million and Rs. 3.5 million. However, considering that it will go up against the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic, its starting price is estimated to be around Rs. 4 million, and with its specs, features, performance, and aesthetics, it is likely to give a tough time to the competition.

The delayed launches of all these vehicles may just be a blessing in disguise with the promise of something positive and interesting to look forward to in the new year.