News: Roundtable held to prepare competitiveness report
Name of Newspaper: The Nation
Date of Publication: Tuesday, 12 February, 2008
URL: http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/feb-2008/12/index13.php

Ashraf Javed

LAHORE- The State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report 2008 has revealed that the Punjab's economic sectors are highly vulnerable to global competition. 'Its products, ranging from agricultural commodities to manufacturing goods, are based on easily imitable advantages such as cheap labour with insufficient product differentiation'. The recommended directions for Punjab's firms include investment in sophisticated products through better customer research, exploration of integration possibilities and steps towards understanding Punjab's relative position, and improving inter-firm cooperation.

These were the initial findings of the report to be issued in March this year. In this connection, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) organised a round-table conference here at a local hotel on Monday.

It is important to mention here that 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'. The report will also 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 labour-force).

The 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. Speaking on this occasion, the Principal Officer of the US Consulate in Lahore Brian Hunt said, 'As the information is shared, our two countries can learn, not just from each other but from all stakeholders that the CSF is bringing together'.

The report gives a road map on Pakistan's economy for the Government of Pakistan, which is fully endorsed by the US govt , he added. Mr Iftikhar Ali Malik, Mr Azhar Saeed Butt, Mr Mian Shafique and Dr Sheila Akhtar also attended the conference besides others.

On this occasion, Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of the CSF, briefed the participants about the CSF activities and said that, 'Globalisation is a reality that countries can no longer escape and competitiveness is the only way to benefit from globalisation instead of becoming a victim of it'.

He also informed the participants that the report would be an important policy tool for Pakistan's economic growth agenda and for private sector investment. It will also include an action plan and timetable to improve key industries that will boost economic growth in Pakistan, he added.

Rehmatullah Javed, Chairman of the Standing Committee of FPCCI, said that it was only after the launch of the first State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report in 2007, that the FPCCI realised the importance and significance of competitiveness and its impact on the business environment.

Mr Javed assured the FPCCI and its member organizations of the continued collaboration with CSF to competitiveness. The 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 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.

The 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.