April 19, 2006	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1427

KARACHI, April 18: Chairman Central Board of Revenue (CBR), Abdullah Yousuf inaugurated the first South Asian accounting summit here on Tuesday.

Addressing the participants he said that our country was a land of numerous opportunities. “Of late, we are being acknowledged in the international market as a vibrant and progressive developing country”, he added

The chairman CBR said that the Pakistan government followed a very liberal investment friendly policy to attract maximum foreign investment, where foreign investors can hold up to 100 per cent equity in several sectors of the economy.

Consequently, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country has increased substantially over the past few years, thereby, differentiating Pakistan from many other countries in the region.

He said that as a result of sound macro economic policies pursued consistently by the government all the vital indicators had shown extra-ordinary improvements- GDP and GNP have risen, foreign exchange reserves have increased, stock markets are booming, the rupee is stable, and the balance of payments has improved.

“All this has been possible because we have consistently followed market-led, business friendly policies characterized by steady moves to liberalisation, deregulation, and privatization,” Abdulla added.

The government has also taken major steps to accelerate programmes to allay investors’ concerns, export support promotion measures have been implemented, full protection to existing and new investments is being provided, the privatization programme is receiving high priority, the tariff and tax systems and related institutions are being restructured, and streamlined.

The CBR chairman further said: “Business opportunities that Pakistan offers are manifold. Our domestic market is growing and we offer access to the tremendous market potential of the landlocked economies of Central Asia, our workforce is well-trained and diligent, there are numerous industries (textiles, engineering, oil and gas etc.) with strong potential for investments, and a wide-range of services recently deregulated.”

He said, “If we are to continuously achieve high economic growth rates, and promote social harmony in the society, we need to have a modern, efficient and robust corporate sector and broad-based capital markets in the country.

For achieving these objectives a fair, efficient, and transparent regulatory framework, based on international legal standards and best practices is required. In implementing these reforms the accounting profession has a profound role to play, and the government is looking forward to working with it to restore the investors’ confidence in the financial reporting system, he added

President Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) Shabbar Zaidi said that the South Asian Accounting Federation brought together senior representatives from the global standards setters, including the Chairman IASB Sir David Tweedie, and office bearers of the major accounting bodies in the South Asian region.—APP