Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to economic reforms, highlighting the urgency of restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to curb mounting losses.
Following his address at the “Pakistan Banking Summit 2025” held in Karachi, the finance minister spoke to the media. He said the government faces Rs1 trillion in losses from SOEs, which necessitates privatisation and SOE reforms.
“At this point, reforming the SOEs and moving forward with the privatisation is the right thing to do for the country,” he said.
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The finance minister reiterated that the government intends to move towards sustainable and inclusive growth. “We cannot continue with the external account vulnerability.”
He said the government intends to achieve export-led growth, beyond textiles, IT, and agriculture.
“Going forward minerals will be a game changer from 2028. Between now and 2028, every single sector has to start exporting from Pakistan.”
To a query, the minister reiterated that the government intends to broaden and deepen the tax base.
“There are sectors which contribute 19-20% to the GDP, but their contribution towards the exchequer is just 1%, which is not sustainable,” he said.
The finance minister said the government plans to ensure compliance and plug tax leakages to provide relief to the overburdened sectors.
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On talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Aurangzeb shared that an IMF mission has arrived in Pakistan to discuss the Climate Resiliency Fund.
“This is a technical mission, which will stay here for 3-4 days, after which further deliberations will take place.
“Meanwhile, in the first week of March, another IMF delegation is expected to arrive in Pakistan for formal discussions on the six-monthly review of the Extended Fund Facility programme.”
Discussions will involve the Ministry of Finance, SBP, and other ministries, he said.
“Based on which they would compile their review on our performance during the first six months of the EFF.”
Talking about cryptocurrency, Aurangzeb said that regulations in this regard are the subject of the central bank. “From my perspective, this should be viewed with an open mind.”
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