IWCCI proposes simple step to boost forex reserves
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Unexplored potential of overseas Pakistani can boost economy: PEW
The Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) on Saturday proposed simple and implementable step to boost dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
There are over ten million Pakistanis working in around seventy-nine countries including USA, UK, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia etc.
Government can use the potential of overseas Pakistanis to augment forex reserves in order to bring meaningful economic reforms, said Farida Rashid, President IWCCI.
Talking to Dr Murtaza Mughal, President Pakistan Economy Watch, she said that friendly schemes must be introduced to restore confidence of overseas Pakistanis.
Government can announce a scheme in which if a person sends remittance of up to one million dollars, he/she will be eligible to bring a duty-free automobile in Pakistan, she said.
Farida Rashid said that if 10,000 persons respond to this scheme which constitutes to 0.1 per cent of the total overseas Pakistanis, the government can get ten billion dollar in foreign exchange.
As per the Economic Survey of Pakistan of 2011-2012 total number of the imported cars and jeeps stood at 1,079,856. If ten thousand overseas Pakistan bring their tax-free automobiles it will increase the existing market by only 0.93 per cent, she said.
At the occasion, Dr Murtaza Mughal said that if government can introduce such a short term scheme, it can bring economic reforms and can boost the economy without taking help from any of the foreign monetary institutions.
He said that incoming government should fully explore the potential of overseas Pakistanis, a great asset.
