After achieving economic stability in the country, our goal is economic growth, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at a ceremony at the Stock Exchange.

 Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Karachi (UrduPoint News Toady/ Pakistan Point News - APP. 08 January 2025) Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that due to the effective policies of the government, economic stability has come to the country and now our goal is to convert it into economic growth. "Udan Pakistan" is a link in this chain that will bring economic prosperity and social development to the country. He expressed these views while addressing the ceremony of receiving the honor of the second best performing stock exchange in the world in 2024 during his visit to the Pakistan Stock Exchange here on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while congratulating the stock exchange on the good performance of the stock exchange, said that the country's economy is stabilizing and now we have to convert stability at the macro level into economic growth.

The Prime Minister said that economic development is our main goal and also a challenge for which the suggestions of investors and the business community are very important. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Karachi is the city of lights and is the center of our trade, finance and exports and the suggestions and opinions of the investors of this city will prove to be more beneficial for our development.

He also invited business leaders and investors to the federal capital to have an open discussion with them on the economy. Referring to tax collection, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that during the last six months, the IMF target was 10.5 percent of GDP, but we achieved 10.8 percent and now we need capital and loans from banks to increase the pace further.

He expressed happiness over the reduction in the policy rate from 22 percent to 13 percent and expressed his determination that we will be vigilant and take it further down. He said that we are in the program with the IMF. And we will fulfill the promises made to the IMF. He said that when the time comes, we will say goodbye to the IMF program, but at that time we have to achieve the goals.

He said that we have to move forward with insight and wisdom and implement export-led growth. The Prime Minister said that concrete suggestions and recommendations are needed in this regard on how we can achieve export-led growth. He referred to the agriculture, mining and mineral sectors and said that there are trillions of dollars of natural resources under our soil.

He said that Western investors who visited here recently have shown interest in exploring the treasures under the soil and instead of extracting raw materials, they want to set up industries here in Pakistan. The Prime Minister said that the government needs your cooperation and guidance in this regard so that we can take concrete steps to bring the country to development.

He said that there are big businessmen and investors here who are the source of employment for millions of people and pay taxes. Talking about privatization, the Prime Minister said that the privatization process is based on 100 percent transparency. He said that I would be happy if you people give suggestions in this regard on how it can be further improved. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, while addressing the ceremony, said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, the country's economy is moving in the right direction, and the local capital market needs to be strengthened to reduce dependence on foreign institutions. The Deputy Prime Minister said that the sapling of the integration of all stock markets planted 9 years ago has now become a strong tree. He said that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, Pakistan will regain its lost position in the international community, as after 27 years, Pakistan organized a major event like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the role of the stock market is of key importance in leading the country towards sustainable growth. The Pakistan Stock Exchange has shown excellent performance in the last one year. The index has increased by 65,000 points and is improving further. The number of listed companies is also increasing, and more IPOs are coming.

He said that the stock market has given an 80 percent turnaround in a year, which is reflecting the excellent performance of the market. He said that 525 companies are registered in the market, 70 percent of the trading volume is Sharia compliant, while the current market capitalization is more than $ 52.5 billion. He said that our effort is to increase the market capitalization to $ 100 billion. He said that along with encouraging new startups and new companies, it is necessary to focus on savings and investment. Governor Sindh Kamran Tesori, Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State Ali Pervez Malik, representatives of the business community of Karachi and high officials were also present on the occasion. \932