News: CSF approves six projects for economic growth
Name of the Newspaper: Business Recorder
Date of publication: Friday, April 13 , 2007
Website: http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=549900&currPageNo=
1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

RECORDER REPORT
ISLAMABAD (April 13 2007): The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) board on Thursday approved co-financing for six new projects of different sectors of economic growth. The projects will be completed under public-private sector partnership.

State minister for Finance and CSF chairman, Omer Ayub Khan said while presiding over a meeting of the Board of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) to review the progress of the Fund's activities.

The projects will generate a substantial new investment of $5.7 million creating more than 5,000 new jobs in the country. CSF has contributed $715,000 for the projects besides generating $1 million additional from the stakeholders. The sectors which will benefit from co-financing were gems & jewellery, furniture, marble & granite, and pharmaceutical clusters in different parts of Pakistan .

The projects will also impact competitiveness of the relevant clusters by increasing export potential to $2.2 million in three years.

On the occasion CSF CEO Arthur Bayhan presented the annual progress report to the board. He also briefed the board on the various sectoral policy analyses that the fund has carried out to identify the competitive advantage of the economic sectors.

The sectoral studied conducted by CSF were motorcycle and fisheries clusters. CSF is working on other competitiveness sectoral studies include; auto vendor, food processing and women's contribution to economic growth by the end of the second quarter of 2007.

Omar Ayub Khan termed CSF studies as realistic, which highlight competitiveness advantage of the concerned sectors. He said this would provide a clear-cut guideline to the government, besides bringing in an international perspective to the sectors to enhance competitiveness of Pakistan.

The board was briefed on CSF's agreements and MoUs singed with the government and private sectors to improve Pakistan's economic competitiveness with leading national and international institutions including the World Economic Forum (WEF), The Competitiveness Institute (TCI), Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC), Government of Sindh (GoS), and Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC); it was also informed about the response and impact generated by the State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report 2007, launched by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz recently.

CSF's investment is expected to create a multiplier effect, where every $1 of investment is expected to generate new investment 8 times higher in the country. All approved projects will support private-public partnerships to link research and development institutions and private sector by involving a three-fold set of stakeholders, termed 'Triple Helix' by the economic leaders, which includes, private sector, academia, and government.

Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) is a joint initiative of the ministry of Finance, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). . CSF also provides technical assistance and co-financing for initiatives related to entrepreneurship, business incubators and private-sector-led initiatives with research institutes and universities that contribute to creating a knowledge-driven economy.

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.