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sibgakhan · #**144** Sunday, February 05, 2006

Trade Policy 2004-05: Govt may privatise marketing arm of EPB to help boost exports

* EPB board likely to be set up

By Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to corporatise or privatise the marketing arm of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), as a part of efforts to re-structure the working of the EPB to help boost the country’s exports.

A senior government official told Daily Times that the government is expected to make a formal announcement in this regard in the forthcoming Trade Policy for the next fiscal year.

He said EPB officials in Karachi briefed Tasneem Noorani, the federal commerce secretary, on the proposal during his first visit to EPB on Monday.

The official said the marketing arm of EPB, which is called Supply Chain Management, would either be corporatised or privatised.

“If it is corporatised, then leading professionals would be hired from the corporate sector and they would be given the task in specific sector to market specific items with a view to enhance exports,” he said.

He said if the Supply Chain Management is to be privatised, then consultant firms would be asked to market various local products and added such consultant firms would be able to utilise EPB offices of this particular wing across the country.

The official said the EPB currently consists of 1) Geographical and Regional Management Division that holds exhibitions abroad, taking care of delegations coming in and going out of the country to enhance trade volume, 2) Supply Chain Management that markets products, 3) Administration, 4) Export Development Fund/Export Marketing Development Fund, 5) Skill Development Fund and Textile Directorate.

The official said the government has decided only to corporatise or privatise the Supply Chain Management and added that a final decision on the issue would be taken in consultation with Tariq Ikram, chairman EPB.

EBP board likely: The official said the government is also likely to constitute a board of the EPB, to be headed by the commerce minister and include the secretary commerce, chairman and vice chairman, and secretaries of all economic ministries.

“The EPB board would give policy guidelines under which the EPB would work,” he said.

The official said the government under the re-restructuring plan has also decided to extend more financial autonomy to the EPB since approvals of even small sums of money are required by the commerce ministry or the finance minsitry.

He said in the forthcoming Trade Policy the government is also going to announce the setting up of electronics and automobile parts clusters each in Karachi and Lahore.

RS122.90BN BUDGET FOR SINDH

Sindh Finance Minister Syed Sardar Ahmad presented in the provincial assembly last Wednesday a Rs122.90 billion budget for the year 2004-05, with an operational revenue deficit of Rs4.22 billion.
The budget shows revenue expenditure of Rs104.90 billion and a record development outlay of Rs20.80 billion, including Rs18 billion for ADP and Rs2.80 billion foreign and federal funded development programmes.
The minister estimated a total revenue of Rs100.68 billion for the fiscal year. This income includes federal transfers of Rs84.16 billion and collection of Rs16.51 billion from the provincial revenue sources

The deficit of Rs4.22 billion is further widened by Rs1.22 billion in the current capital account, pushing the total shortfall to Rs5.43 billion. The minister did not elaborate how the ambitious Rs18 billion ADP for the next fiscal year would be financed.

"Provincial contribution and funding of oversized Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) will be subject to availability of the resources," the budget statement said.

In line with the decision of the federal government, Syed Sardar Ahmad announced an ad hoc relief of 15 per cent for the employees of the provincial government and ad hoc relief of 16 per cent for those who had retired before 1994 and eight per cent for other retired employees.

The minister spoke about the extreme constraints on Sindh which stemmed from an 'unfriendly' 1997 NFC award, the acute drought which reduced irrigated land in Sindh by over 40 per cent followed by rains which caused widespread damage to standing crops