FPCCI dissatisfied with SMEs financing scheme
KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has...
KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for keen interest in the development of the underprivileged sector, a statement said.
It also thanked Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar for convening a meeting of the stakeholders and conducting deliberations for the development of the sector and finalising the SME Policy.
Unisame president Zulfikar Thaver said that the promotion and development of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) was not a charity but it is the responsibility of the state to facilitate, support, motivate and encourage the sector.
He lamented the delay in the finalisation of the SME Policy.
The minister invited suggestions from the participants about access to finance, infrastructure, industrial estates, tax incentives, cost of doing business, ease of doing business through simplification of rules and regulations and one-window facility.
Thaver said that the stakeholders were impressed by the depth of understanding of the minister and appreciated his deep study of the sector.
He questioned the participants about the State Bank of Pakistan’s ( SBP) schemes of collateral-free financing and about the ratio and proportion of the SME financing.
Thaver said that as long as the banks were not comfortable they would not finance the SMEs. The main reason being that the risk is of the banks although the money was of the SBP.
The participants urged the minister to set up a strong board of directors of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) and to enhance its scope and size. They also urged for industrial estates across the country.
The participants from all the four provinces requested for a prompt SME Policy and priority for the sector.
The participants belonged to various segments, textiles, rice, engineering and services and sought time from the minister for their specific requirements.
They also spoke about inflation and the cost of energy and depreciation of the rupee, which is making imported raw materials costlier.
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