Federal Finance Minister of Pakistan Asad Umar addressed the Bloomberg Forum
Withholding tax on cash withdrawals to be removed completely for Filers and Non-filers
Capital market reforms in the offing to mobilise investment in equity and debt
Market over-regulated now, impeding its growth
More public-private partnership needed – only the power sector saw the successful implementation of this
Banking sector: Deposit/GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world – banking sector is not mobilizing deposits effectively
Islamic Banking (IB) opportunities exist – Develop opportunities for deployment of IB deposits to help IB reach its full potential
First phase of economic reforms meant to implement demand compression in the economy which can now be seen in the numbers
Pakistan now needs to focus on domestic supply expansion
Another Sukuk Rs 200bn expected
Government needs to remove uncertainty with respect to energy prices, interest rates, devaluation and IMF
SME sector has substantial contribution in GDP but accounts for a very small portion of private sector credit
Government needs to increase confidence of the Local Investor.
Needs to address growth challenge at the same time as controlling the current account deficit.
More focus to be put on Oil and gas exploration.
Pakistan has competitive advantage in agriculture.