FPCCI shows its continued commitment to improve competitiveness of Pakistan's economy, and mobilize the private sector for sustained economic growth

Lahore, 11 February - The Roundtable on the State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report 2008 was held here today at the Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore. The conference was jointly organized by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF).

The Conference was attended by leading representatives of business, entrepreneurs, public as well as private sector and academia.

Speaking on the occasion, Brian Hunt, Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate in Lahore said, "As information is shared, our two countries can learn, not just from each other, but from all stakeholders that the Competitiveness Support Fund is bringing together. The State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report gives a road map on Pakistan's economy for the Government of Pakistan, which is fully endorsed by the US Government".

Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of the Competitiveness Support Fund, briefed the participants of the conference about CSF activities and said that, "Globalization is a reality that countries can no longer escape and competitiveness is the only way to benefit from globalization and not become a victim of it". He also informed the participants that the State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report will be an important policy tool for Pakistan's economic growth agenda and for private sector investment. The report will also include an action plan and timetable to improve key industries that will boost economic growth in Pakistan.

Mr. Rehmatullah Javed, Chairman of the Standing Committee of FPCCI, informed the participants that, "It was only after the launch of the first State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report in 2007, that the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry realized the importance and significance of competitiveness and its impact on the business environment." Mr. Javed assured the FPCCI and its member organizations continued collaboration with CSF to improve Pakistan's competitiveness.

The second State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report 2008 will provide a snapshot of the strengths and weaknesses along with key positive and negative trends in the national economy, as well as regional competitiveness trends in each of the provinces.

The meeting was also attended by Mr Iftikhar Ali Malik, Mr. Azhar Saeed Butt, Mr. Mian Shafique and Dr. Sheila Akhtar.

The report will include recommendations on how to leverage Punjab's strengths and weaknesses in the global and domestic markets, through sustainable growth engines tied to investment in human capital. The preliminary finding highlights Punjab's potential in creating world-class manufacturing clusters (geographical agglomeration of firms and related entities), and its sophisticated factor advantages (educational institutions and a relatively well-educated labor-force). However, Punjab's economic sectors are highly vulnerable to international global competition. Its products, ranging from agricultural commodities to manufacturing goods, are based on easily imitable advantages such as cheap labor with insufficient product differentiation. Some of the recommended directions for Punjab's firms include investing in sophisticated products through better customer research, exploring forward integration possibilities, understanding Punjab's relative position, and improving inter-firm cooperation.

The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, is in the process of preparing the second 'State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report 2008'. CSF, as the partner institution of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Pakistan is working closely with the Global Competitiveness Network of the WEF on this report.

The State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report 2008 will track Pakistan's performance, spotlighting the areas of progress and areas of further focus. In addition to explaining the results of the Global Competitiveness Report of 2007-2008 of the World Economic Forum and benchmarking Pakistan's progress against its peers, the report will evaluate the country's progress in raising its competitiveness in 2008-09. The 2008 Report will highlight a thematic area that may require focused attention from Pakistan's economic leadership. Pakistan is ranked 92 among the 131 countries on the global competitiveness rankings. CSF has started interaction with the stakeholders in the first week of February 2008, including all relevant ministries, leading public and private sector institutions, business councils and trade bodies along with academia and the media.

Support for CSF is part of the $ 1.5 billion in aid that the US Government is providing to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health and governance.