KARACHI, May 20: While commending PIA and Pakistan Railway on improving their economic performance, Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday expressed concern over the financial condition of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation and Water and Power Development Authority.

Speaking at a pre-budget seminar arranged by the Management Association of Pakistan here, Mr Aziz said that the two power utilities continued to rely heavily on government resources, adding that both these corporations would need over Rs50 billion — almost one-third of the public sector development budget — to keep them afloat.

Both the PIA and PR, he said, had achieved self-reliance and were contributing dividends to its stockholders, adding that only a few years ago, these institutions were heavily dependent on government assistance.

He said that shares of a few of public sector enterprises were being traded in local bourses, adding that shares of a few other enterprises would soon be listed in the stock exchanges of the country.

Expressing optimism regarding improvement in the country’s economic growth, he said that the structural reforms would now be taken up at the provincial governments’ level. He added that reforms had been successfully taken at the federal level.

Pakistan’s annual economic growth rate, Mr Aziz said, had exceeded 4.5 per cent, which had been targeted for the current fiscal year, adding that the growth rate would rise to six per cent during the next fiscal year.

“Pakistan is now out of crisis and is going ahead on path of progress and development,” he said, adding that improved economic growth, including increased per capita income next year, would yield better results regarding tackling the issue of poverty. The per capita income, he said, would increase to $625 during next five years.

The poverty level, he said, was likely to be brought down to 25 per cent during the same period. Poverty level currently stood at 31.2 per cent, he added.

Investment ratio, which currently stood between 13 and 14 per cent, should rise to 18 per cent in the next five years, the size of the development budget should go up to four per cent of the GDP while the ratio of the public debt should come down to 75 per cent of the GDP from its existing level of 90 per cent.

Enumerating the government’s achievements, Mr Aziz said that the revenue collection had increased, fiscal deficit had been contained and exports had risen considerably.

Meanwhile, pointing out the rise in import of machinery, he said that it was a good indicator.

Shaukat Aziz made a specific reference to over 10 per cent growth of the industrial sector based on the performance of 39 industrial categories, saying that textiles and engineering had led the growth in this sector and called an automobile assembler, Yusuf Shirazi, ‘icon of the industry’.

Comparing Pakistan’s achievements in terms of economic growth with regional economies, Shaukat Aziz said: “Pakistan is one of the few developing countries of the world maintaining a surplus current account balance.”

Asserting that by comparison, Pakistan had fared much better than the “Asian Tiger” economies.

Earlier, chairman of the MAP Masood Naqvi and Ibrahim Sidat also spoke.