SME Bank has collaborated with Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is ready to provide all types of facilitation to the Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs), reported a national daily.
This was stated by SME Bank President Ihsanul Haq Khan while talking to LCCI Acting President Amjad Ali Jawa and Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan at the LCCI. Former LCCI senior vice president Malik Tahir Javed, Executive Committee Members Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry and Adnan Khalid Butt were also present on the occasion.
The SME Bank president said that feedback from the LCCI could enhance the performance of SME bank. He said that SME Bank of Pakistan is supporting and developing the SME sector by providing necessary financial and technical assistance on a sustainable basis.
The LCCI acting president said that SME Bank was established to grow Small and Medium Enterprises but it has been observed that the results have not been as expected. He said that financial policy of the bank should be transparent while borrowing process needs to be simplified for the enterprises. He further added that SME Bank of Pakistan should enable the SMEs to contribute to economic development through value addition and exports. He informed the SME Bank president that the LCCI was the first chamber of the country who had opposed the privatisation of SME Bank in the larger interest of the SME sector of Pakistan.
He said that Pakistan is a developing country where over 90 percent industries and Small and Medium Enterprises exist. He said that these are not only backbone of the economy but also help Large Scale Manufacturing Sector to play its due role. He said that the LCCI had proposed to the government that instead of selling SME Bank of Pakistan off, focus should be shifted to the SME sector of Pakistan as these are considered as the engine of economic growth in both developed and developing countries.
The LCCI acting president added that the focus of the  SME Bank should be to become  a responsible corporate entity engaged in lending support to Small & Medium Sectors (SMEs) of Pakistan through facilitation measures.
