Although persistent structural weaknesses continue to take a toll on Pakistan’s overall economic performance, the GDP growth is likely to remain higher than last year’s level, said the State Bank of Pakistan’s second quarterly report, Internews reported. It said the energy shortages continue to be a serious issue, which held back growth in a number of industries. Similarly, Pakistan has not been able to attract sufficient foreign direct investment, even when our peer countries are experiencing rising FDI inflows, said the report. Tax revenue growth remains sluggish despite several measures introduced during the year and the losses in public sector enterprises (PSEs) remained a burden on scarce fiscal resources, as restructuring and privatization program of PSEs could not gain momentum.
