LAHORE: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Raza Abbas Shah on Thursday said that a large number of Chinese investors were looking forward to start projects in the fields of EV bikes, fans and LED lights and waiting for approval of policies.
Shah further informed that to promote EV bikes, EDB had proposed to subsidize a certain number of EV bikes.
“We have also issued 23 licenses for EV bikes as it is a new technology. Similarly, a subsidy strategy has also been prepared to bring a certain number of bikes on the roads. It will also develop related industries like lithium batteries and the motor industry. The EV Bikes Policy is being submitted to the Economic Coordination Committee,” CEO said.
The CEO EDB met LCCI President Kashif Anwar at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here on Thursday and discussed various industries.
The CEO further informed that the government is going to present the policy of LED lights by July 1, similarly, a policy for fans has been proposed and will be approved soon and will not be allowed to manufacture and install fans above 80 watts.
“The current situation also offers a huge opportunity for the lighting and fan industry. We will also share our draft solar policy with LCCI to incorporate their suggestions. We should take advantage of the opportunities and increase exports. Last year there were some restrictions on foreign exchange but we managed to get relief for mobile and other industries. The current account deficit problem can be overcome by increasing foreign investment and remittances,” CEO added.
However, during the meeting, LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that among the economic challenges the country is currently facing, the most serious problem is the foreign exchange crisis due to which banks are reluctant to open LCs.
“Thousands of our containers are stuck at the port due to which the business community is facing demurrage and other charges. Also, the entire supply chain of imports required by industries, including many raw materials, has been affected. Our industries have to import a lot of raw materials and necessary machinery on which 100% cash margin has to be paid, we want the government to give profit on this to the business community. Additional customs duty, withholding tax, pending refunds and multiple audits are the problems that have made it impossible for the business community to continue their business. Furthermore, we have a sharp devaluation of the rupee, high energy costs, fuel prices, electricity and gas rates along with a 17 percent policy,” President LCCI said.
According to Kashif Anwar, the main reason for the economic crisis is the lack of focus on industrialization and import substitution, as a result of which the import bill continued to increase.
“Our trade deficit in 2021-22 was over $48 billion, while our trade deficit during the first seven months of this fiscal year (July 2022 to January 2023) has crossed $19 billion. There is immense potential for localization in the automotive sector. If we look at imports from the auto sector, our imports of completely built units were $616 million in 2021-22 as against $386 million in 2020-21. Similarly, complete knocked down (CKD) imports stood at $2.4 billion in 2021-22 as against $1.6 billion in 2020-21. Localization is so lacking in our engineering sector that we do not even manufacture three wheeler loader rickshaw engines in the country but import them from China. OEMS must be forced to work on a dilution program instead of importing so that their engine parts can be made in local industries. Our machinery imports are also high at $10.9 billion in 2021-22. We can start manufacturing these machines in the country by promoting localization which will significantly reduce our import bill which is indispensable for our economic stability,” he added.
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