KARACHI, March 8: The government will focus on promotion of construction industry and small and medium size business enterprises in the next budget to stimulate economic growth, create job opportunities and alleviate poverty, Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance, told a businessmen gathering on Saturday.

“Pakistan is now well poised for economic growth and development after having achieved macro-economic stabilization during the last three years,” the PM’s adviser declared at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s luncheon meeting here.

He claimed that enough fiscal space was now available in the budget that could enable the government to sanction greater amount of funds for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) next fiscal year.

Responding to a question on productive utilization of ten billion dollars accumulated foreign exchange reserves, Shaukat Aziz said the government had no control to spend these resources for its budget.

“I do not have any cheque book to draw any amount from the foreign exchange reserves,” he ridiculed the questioner, while trying to make a point that people of Pakistan are the real owners of this fund.

“Foreign exchange reserves build up has strengthened Pakistan’s economic sovereignty and has enabled the country to absorb the financial shocks, if there would be any, from Iraq crisis,” he said.

He said that a 10-billion-dollar reserve build up had given the currency stability and spared the people of the unthinkable inflation had the dollar value gone up to Rs90 to Rs100. “We have brought an end to begging bowl culture in the country,” he said, while pointing out the government’s frequent efforts in the past to seek financial assistance from the international donors.

“It was not the IMF agenda on which the government achieved macro-economic stabilization,” he declared, claiming that it was entirely a home grown agenda.

“The State Bank has engaged a few international experts to find out ways of productive utilization of the foreign exchange reserves,” he informed the businessmen.

The PM’s adviser informed the businessmen of his meeting with the bankers earlier in the day at the SBP where he was informed that lending rate has been brought down substantially and “there are people here in this hall who get bank credit on as low as 4 per cent”.

He said the banking culture had been changed altogether and instead of businessmen looking towards the bankers, the bankers are now running after clients to offer them loans.

“The day of earning 15 per cent return on Treasury Bills is over,” he remarked, adding the banks can now only earn in investment in housing construction, rural and agricultural financing, consumer banking and allied areas.

Shaukat Aziz advised the businessmen to give up their habit of demanding fiscal concessions and tax incentives. “You cannot build industry behind the high tariff walls and import substitution,” he said, pointing out the government wants to build up business on competitive edge.

“Keep decent accounting books and you will not fear any auditing,” he advised, while referring to the point raised by FPCCI President Riaz Ahmad Tata on harassment of businessmen because of audit.

“This is out of context,” Shaukat Aziz remarked when a former leader of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, Mushtaq Vohra, informed the minister that the ICRC has sold out Rs9 billion worth of sick industrial units at Rs2 billion.

The PM’s adviser says the ICRC has disposed of 250 industrial units which are now being revived and are operating.

Earlier, FPCCI President Riaz Tata spoke of the problems of businessmen because of multiple rates of sales tax, reduction in duty drawback rates and high lending rate for small businessmen, who seek bank loans.