President All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF), Syed Maaz Mahmood has said that not the extensive borrowing, including the recent IMF $1.9 billion financing for Pakistan but improving the Ease of Doing Business Index of the country was vital to put the country’s economy back on track.
In a statement issued on Sunday, he said that with continuous hike in cost of production in the country, what the Pakistan’s economy really needs is persistent and sound economic management, asking the authorities for undertaking economic reforms and improving the regulatory environment for better Ease of Doing Business level to boost foreign investment so that financial stability can be achieved in the long-run.
Maaz Mahmood alleged all previous governments for extensive borrowing of forex during last five years to meet local expenditure, which had increased the burden of foreign debt of Pakistan substantially, instead of making serious efforts to enhance the ranking of Ease of Doing Business Index of Pakistan, as it is must to attract foreign as well as local investment and high economic growth.
He stressed the need for reducing cost of doing business, besides evolving a new price control mechanism, as huge taxation, rising oil prices and constant jump in electricity and gas tariffs have lifted the inflation to decades high level in 2023.
The APBF chief warned the authorities that high inflation can hurt economic growth and a careful policy is required to keep it in control. He said that the pace of inflation is skyrocketing at a time when the economic activity is slowing down.
