Digitalising and revolutionizing small industries should be new SME policy of Pakistan: Wang Zihai
Lahore: President Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) Wang Zihai has suggested that digitalising and revolutionizing small industries should be the new Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) policy of the Pakistani government.
During an online think-tank session held at PCJCCI premises, he said that it was in domestic markets and small industries that all sorts of innovation and entrepreneurship could take place which later would move out and lead to higher exports and foreign exchange earnings, according to the joint Chamber’s statement issued here.
Wang Zihai opined: “The small shopkeeper, the vender, the unskilled laborer contains the largest number of small and medium enterprises and if we make this sector boom we will have a more egalitarian development.”
He also suggested that trade policy should not only be for promoting exports but for promoting all trade both at home and abroad.
“We have to redesign our trade policy, centered to encourage competition, create opportunities and provide an enabling environment for domestic markets to flourish in an innovative and exciting new approach,” he maintained.
Ehsan Choudhry, Senior Vice President said the domestic markets and small industries in Pakistan primarily included retail and wholesale traders, restaurants and hotels, construction, transport storage and communication, financial and real estate and personal services.
This was sector where the poor and middle-class were hidden, he said adding: “We do not need to reinvent the wheel, it is only through competition with foreign markets and services that our domestic markets will improve and benefit through knowledge spillovers, learning by doing and exposure to new technologies and management systems.”
He advised the public and private sectors to follow a vibrant vision of transforming Pakistani cities into a dynamic commercial hub of the region – a tourist destination, a shopping centre and regional headquarters for multinational corporations.
He elaborated: “When we look at the success stories of international brands and innovative individuals behind them, we see that many have started off from humble beginnings.”
He mentioned that in several East Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and China, spaces were allocated for temporary stalls to be set up resulting in the now famous night markets, and these vibrant markets were one of the biggest tourist attractions in their cities.
Sarfaraz Butt, Vice President PCJCCI said that entrepreneurs and innovators needed neighborhood markets to perfect their products, brands and recipes, which they would then export. He emphasized on in-depth analysis before formulating any policy, only with the help of in-depth analysis, a better policy framework could be devised.
Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General PCJCCI highlighted that before policy making, it should be investigated that why locally successful brands had been unable to become well-recognized brands globally.
He stressed that the proposed strategy should be focused on improving the quality and quantity of wholesale and retail outlets, ultimately linked to urban management and land use.
These policies would definitely transform the current scenario of domestic market with special focus on promoting successful business through encouraging trade, entrepreneurship and innovation and providing fair and efficient markets for the welfare of all Pakistan.
