S. M. Tanveer, FPCCI leader and UBG Patron-in-Chief, addressed KATI members at a dinner hosted by the newly-appointed President, Ikram Rajpoot, at Gymkhana Karachi.

Sindh Industrial Minister Ikram Ullah Dharejo was also present on the occasion.

In his address, Tanveer highlighted several key initiatives, including efforts to renegotiate with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), reduce interest rates, revise stringent tax measures, and strengthen the district economy to drive economic growth.

He noted that the industrial electricity tariff had decreased from Rs48 per kWh to Rs31 per kWh (about 11 cents) as a result of successful negotiations with IPPs.

Ideally, the electricity tariff should be around 9 cents per unit, he said, but this is currently not feasible due to IMF conditions.

However, he noted that FPCCI is actively working with the government to explore ways to exit the IMF programme.

He further highlighted that the government has saved Rs3,600 billion through renegotiations with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), a key demand persistently raised by FPCCI.

Additionally, he mentioned that the bank markup rate had dropped from 22% to 11% due to FPCCI’s persistent efforts.

Tanveer emphasised the importance of his brainchild, the District Economy initiative, stating that making Pakistan more governable by converting divisions into provinces would unlock district potential and facilitate achieving $100 billion in exports within the next five years.

He expressed satisfaction with the positive response from the business community across the country.

He also clarified that the concept of District Economy was developed by the FPCCI’s Economic Policy Board, dispelling any misconceptions that the idea was borrowed from other sources.