OVERVIEW OF REGIONAL ECONOMIES

1. The World Economic Forum's "Global Competitiveness Report, 2017-18,”

indicating the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) has identified 137 countries in which
the competitive analyses and country ranking have been identified.
2. Brief Overview of SAARC economies according to the Global Competitiveness
Report, 2017-18,” is as under:
a. Bangladesh. As per the report, Bangladesh is ranked 99th among 137
countries. It has a population of161.5 Million. Its GDP is US $ 227.9 Billion whereas
its GDP per capita is US $ 1411 Million. Bangladesh has an average score of 4 on
4 x indicators of GCI with a highest score of 5.2 in Health and primary education.
The problematic factors of doing business in Bangladesh are; Corruption,
Inadequate supply of infrastructure, Inefficient government bureaucracy,
Inadequately educated workforce, Poor work ethic in national labor force, Access
to financing Policy, Tax rates and Government instability.
b. Bhutan. As per the report, Bhutan is ranked 82nd among 137 countries.
It has a population of 0.8 Million. Its GDP is US $ 2.1 Billion whereas its GDP per
capita is US $ 2673.5 Million. Bhutan score is 4 or above on 7 indicators of GCI
whereas on infrastructure it has scored 3.6 and market size 1.9. The problematic
factors of doing business in Bhutan is access to financing, Restrictive labor
regulations, Inadequate supply of infrastructure, Foreign currency regulations and
Inadequately educated workforce.
c. India. As per the report, India is ranked 40th among 137 countries. It has a
population of 1309.3 Million. Its GDP is US $ 2256.4 Billion whereas its GDP per
capita is US $ 1723.3 Million. India score on 12 indicators of GCI is averaging
above 4 except for Health and primary education (5.5 Score), Market Size (6.4)
and technological readiness (3.1). The grey area of doing business in India is
Corruption, Access to financing, Tax rates, Inadequate supply of infrastructure,
Poor work ethic in national labor force and inadequately educated workforce.
d. Nepal. As per the report, Nepal is ranked 88th among 137 countries. It has
a population of 28.9 Million. Its GDP is US $ 22.1 Billion whereas its GDP per
capita is US $ 733.2 Million. Nepal has scored above 5 on 2 x indicators of GCI i.e
Macroeconomic environment (5.7) and Health and primary education (5.6). On
remaining indicators, it is averaging below 4. The problematic areas of doing
business in Nepal are Government instability/coups, Inefficient government
bureaucracy, Inadequate supply of infrastructure, Access to financing, Poor work
ethic in national labor force, Restrictive labor regulations, inadequately, Foreign
currency regulations and Tax rates.
e. Srilanka. As per the report, Srilanka Nepal is ranked 85th among 137
countries. It has a population of 21.3 Million. Its GDP is US $ 82.6. Billions whereas

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 its GDP per capita is US $ 3887.5 Million. Srilanka has an average of over 4 in 6
x indicators of GCI whereas it has a high score of 6.3 in Health and Primary
education. On remaining indicators, it is averaging below 4.
f. Afghanistan did not rank among 137 countries in the report.
OVERVIEW OF PAKISTAN NATIONAL ECONOMY
3. As per Global Competitiveness Report, 2017-18, Pakistan is ranked 115th among
137 countries. It has a population of 193.6 Million. Its GDP is US $ 284.2 Billion whereas
its GDP per capita is US $ 1462 Million. Pakistan has score 4 or above on 4x Indicators
of GCI. It has a score of 3.4 on innovation factor. Problematic areas of doing business in
Pakistan is Corruption, Access to financing, Tax rates, Inadequate supply of
infrastructure, Poor work ethic in national labor force and inadequately educated
workforce.
4. As per Economic Survey of Pakistan, the GDP growth rate for FY2019 is estimated
at 3.29 percent on the basis of 0.85, 1.40 and 4.71 percent growth in agricultural, industrial
and services sectors respectively. Salient performance of various sectors of Pakistan
Economy is as under:
a. Agriculture: The agriculture sector growth is estimated at 0.85%. The
crops sector has witnessed negative growth of 4.4 % during FY2019 mainly due
to negative growth of important crops. Production of cotton, rice and sugarcane
declined by 17.5, 3.3, and 19.4 percent, respectively, while the wheat output
posted a marginal growth of 0.5 percent and production of maize grew by 6.9%.
b. Industry: During FY2019, the growth in industrial sector has been
estimated at only 1.40 percent mainly due to decline by 2.06 percent in large scale
manufacturing sector and by 1.96 percent in mining and quarrying sector. Pakistani
textiles industry accounts for 70 % of exports of the country. But the industry is not
growing in accordance with the international standards and not using or adopting
the latest technology.
c. Services: The services sector posted a growth of 4.71%. Wholesale and
Retail Trade sector grew at a rate of 3.11%. Transport, Storage and
Communication sector has registered a growth of 3.34% due to positive
contribution of railways (38.93 %), air transport (3.38 %).
d. Capital markets & Corporate Sector. Performance of Capital market in
Pakistan remained volatile during the period under review. Many factors
contributed to its volatility. However, the PSX index has increased from 33,229
points as on January 1, 2016, to 38,649 as on March 31, 2019, a rise of 16 percent.

WHAT SHOULD BE BUSINESS FRIENDLY POLICIES OF PAKISTAN

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5. Pakistan has important strategic resources and development potential. The
country is at the fulcrum of a regional market with a vast population, large and diverse
resources, and untapped potential for trade. The increasing proportion of Pakistan’s
working-age population provides the country with a potential dividend.
6. Following policies should be adopted for improvement of economy:
a. Improve the investment to GDP ratio in Pakistan.
b. Improve macro-economic policies.
c. Bi-lateral investment treaties with regional countries
d. Exports should be given more focus rather than imports.
e. Increase the supply of local goods in the market to control price hike.
Moreover, imported products should be substituted by local products.
f. Exploit tourism potential of the country for revenue generation.

HOW TO HANDLE CPEC PROJECTS SO AS TO IMPROVE INDUSTRIAL AS WELL

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
7. Following recommendations are made for improving Industrial and Agriculture
Productions:
a. Prepare new policy and provide incentive packages to local entrepreneurs.
Encourage private-sector participation
b. Achieve synergy in policy implementation and execution so that economic
reforms are achieved in shortest possible time.
c. Enhance technical skills of Pakistani labour force through efficient training.
d. Strengthen cooperation in the fields such as crop farming, livestock
breeding, forestry and food growing and aquatic and Fishery in the regions along
the CPEC.
e. Improve post-harvest handling, storage and transportation of agricultural,
products.
f. Cooperate in key areas with Chinese such as biological breeding,
production, processing, storage and transportation, infrastructure construction,
disease prevention and control and water management