"Now we are going to apply for power tariff determination with Nepra and after that we will move forward for financial closure. The financial closure will be completed in one year and most probably the project will be initiated with the Chinese investment," he added. He said as per plan, the coal power plant will start production by 2021.
"We have submitted some suggestions to the government for revival of economy and to generate more foreign exchange for the country and improve the energy situation," he said and added that Pakistan can get over $ 10 billion foreign exchange inflows with an amnesty scheme for overseas Pakistanis. An amnesty scheme has been proposed for overseas Pakistanis. This scheme will encourage expats to bring their savings in the Pakistan and invest in energy and infrastructure projects, he added.
He also urged the government for special incentives for overseas Pakistanis to increase the inflows of home remittances via legal channel. "We believe still some $ 5-7 billion home remittances are arriving through Hundi/Hawala. As per the estimates, Pakistan can attract remittances inflows amounting to $ 25-26 billion annually compared to $ 20 billion arrived during last fiscal year," he added.
He said with the announcement of the court verdict on Panamagate case political uncertainty has almost ended and now the stock market is likely to perform well. He said Pakistan stock market is giving excellent returns and average return of Karachi Stock Exchange (now PSX) stood at 23 percent during last 10 years.
Replying to a question, Arif Habib said the CPEC project is a real game changer in the region and will help improve the country's infrastructure, which need billions of dollars investment.
He hoped that the newly-elected Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will take steps to improve economic and support business sector. KPC Secretary Maqsood Ahmed Yousufi presented the vote of thanks for continued support from Arif Habib Group for the journalist community.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017