Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged Pakistan’s private sector to take the lead in achieving sustainable, export-driven economic growth, saying decades of subsidies had failed to deliver the desired expansion in exports.
Addressing a ceremony at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in Karachi on Thursday, the prime minister said several industries had received government support since the 1960s but had not achieved a significant increase in exports. He said the prolonged subsidy-based approach had also contributed to higher prices, weaker quality and productivity, while failing to promote effective import substitution.
Shehbaz said the country needed to move towards an export-oriented economic model and called on exporters to play a greater role in strengthening the economy. He also highlighted recent government measures, including tax incentives worth Rs2.3 trillion and incentives for the construction sector, saying these were beginning to generate positive activity.
The prime minister said Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank had reached $21.4 billion, while remittances were also showing strong growth. He credited ongoing economic reforms, improved access to international capital markets and developments at the PSX for strengthening investor confidence.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan’s economy was expected to grow by 4% in 2027, compared with 3.7% recorded the previous year. He cautioned that pushing growth rapidly through higher consumption could create balance-of-payments pressures and revive the boom-and-bust cycle.
Aurangzeb said the government was instead focusing on sustainable, export-led growth and creating a business environment in which the private sector could expand investment and production.
He said the number of tax filers had risen to more than 5.7 million, up 45% from 3.9 million a year earlier. He added that Rs60 billion had been released under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Programme, while banks had approved Rs340 billion in financing.
The finance minister also highlighted the performance of the stock market, saying the KSE-100 Index had risen from around 67,000 points in March 2024 to about 170,000 points. He said 11 initial public offerings had taken place during the year, the highest annual number in two decades.
Naya Nazimabad Chairman Arif Habib said the country’s improving economic indicators, including higher remittances and foreign exchange reserves, needed to be better presented internationally. He said 12 additional real estate investment trusts were expected to be listed on the PSX, adding that REITs could support investment, employment, construction and tax revenues.
Habib said his organisation had registered 16 REITs worth around $630 million since 2015. He also called for greater use of land held by public institutions, including port authorities and Pakistan Railways, for REIT development.
