LAHORE, Sept 30: A network of industrial estates is being developed in the province for curtailing the rate of unemployment and bringing down the poverty graph.

Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool said this while talking to the newly-elected Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Shahid Hassan Sheikh and outgoing president Mian Shafqat Ali at the Governor’s House here on Saturday.

The governor said that all possible resources were being provided for the promotion of a business-friendly atmosphere and solving problems of the trade and industry considered engine of growth by the government.

He said that the Central Board of Revenue had also been restructured for the promotion of a culture of trust with the business community.

The incumbent and former chamber presidents said that the business community appreciated economic policies of the government which had been instrumental in attracting foreign investment on account of transparency and consistency.

They said the successful US visit of President Pervez Musharraf was expected to increase the volume of Pakistani business with it.

The governor was also apprised of the difficulties being faced by the business community due to increase in prices of petrol and bank markup rates. —Reporter