990401

Efforts on to have $850m

London Club loan

re-scheduled: Dar

LAHORE: Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said here on Tuesday that he is making his best efforts to have $850 million loans re-scheduled without going to the London Club comprising 30 countries.

Talking to the APP, he said that Pakistan would have to host and bear expenditure of the meeting of the London Club unlike Paris Club which doesn't put the burden on the host country for re-scheduling of loans.

"Right now we want to save time and money by following a shortcut," he said.

Pakistan has already had loans of $1.4 billion re-scheduled from the London Club from total of $2.25 billion Swap funds.

For the remaining $850 million also, he said, Pakistan is making efforts to have it re-scheduled without calling the meeting in London which would save additional expenditure of hosting the meeting.

He said he is already busy with the job as a top priority and would be flying to Karachi to meet various officials.

About the general state of the economy, he said that it has been resurrected from a no-win position, and the indicators of the economy are growing healthy but there are still problems, mostly because of the backlog and might take another 24 to 30 months to gain robust economy.

He said, "What we need is a system of checks and balances to make the ship running." The economy had come to halt because of the absence of the system during the PPP's last regime.

He said the present government has introduced a strict regime of such checks without interference.

Asked about measures which could give further boost to the economy, he said the most important factor is that the government has drawn up extensive plans to advance loans to small and medium enterprises.

Quoting Japan as a reference point, he said Japan had made 90 percent of its industrial financing to small and medium level industry which still constitute its backbone.

But in Pakistan, huge funds were devoured by the big industrialists and "that culture has to be changed and will change it, Insha Allah," Dar said.ÑAPP