Political Stability To Make Faisalabad Fastest Growing Industrial, Business Hub: FCCI President

President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Shabbir Hussain Chawla has said that political stability coupled with positive and long term economic policies will make Faisalabad one of the fastest growing industrial, commercial and business hubs of this region.

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2018 ) :President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Shabbir Hussain Chawla has said that political stability coupled with positive and long term economic policies will make Faisalabad one of the fastest growing industrial, commercial and business hubs of this region.

Addressing the participants of 48th International Banking Course of the National Institute of Banking & Finance (NIBAF) Islamabad, he said, "Regional trade with our next door neighboring countries India, Afghanistan and Iran is only 5% which should be at least 40% to trigger much needed economic growth in South Asia." He told that "One Belt One Road" will link Faisalabad with more than three dozen central Asian States as well as middle East and major European markets.

This will give a quantum jump to the bilateral trade in addition to increasing the Pakistani exports manifold, he said and added that investment of $60 billion under CPEC will further attract investment of $150 billion from the other countries.

He said that the three initial phases of CPEC including Gwadar Deep Sea Port, Independent Power Plants (IPPs) and Infrastructure Development have already been completed while under its fourth and last phase, nine Special Economic Zones would also be developed across the country.

He said that first special economic Zone (SEZ) is under construction in Gwadar while another will be developed in Faisalabad. He said that R&D cell of FCCI is continuously analyzing economic reports and giving its recommendations to facilitate the members of FCCI.

Similarly a help desk of SMEDA has been providing guidance to the new entrants, while State Bank is extending them facility of finance on reduced mark up rates.

He said that government is now focusing on provision of cheap and environment friendly energy and in this connection option of coal, wind, solar etc.

are being exploited. He said, "The government has provided rebate to make our exportable surplus competitive in the international markets. This step has yielded positive results and exports are now gradually increasing during last seven months.

Textile sector is 100% catering to the domestic needs of cloths and clothing in addition to producing sufficient surplus to earn foreign exchange up to the tune of 12 Billion. Out of this, Faisalabad alone is contributing 55%." Asad Jan Joint Director NIBAF said that representatives of central banks of different countries are included in this delegation.

They are getting training in the emerging fields of banking, he said and added that the objective of their visit is to understand the economic importance of Faisalabad in overall national economy.

Delegates also introduced themselves and asked interesting questions about the economic potential of Faisalabad. Waqas Kashif Bajwa Chief Manager State Bank of Pakistan Faisalabad expressed satisfaction over the working relationship between FCCI and State Bank of Pakistan and hoped that it will continue to grow with the passage of time.

Later, VP FCCI Usman Rauf presented FCCI memento to Asad Jan while Ijaz Nisar and Ahmad Yasin decorated Asad Jan and Waqas Kashif Bajwa with FCCI pins.