PM orders removal of hurdles in financing housing, agriculture, SME sectors

ISLAMABAD, Oct 7 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the relevant authorities to remove obstacles hindering the provision of financial resources to the housing, agriculture, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sectors, saying that the lending system should be made more effective.

Chairing a review meeting regarding access to finance, the prime minister also directed to make the SME Portal operational by the end of November to facilitate the provision of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. “The SME Portal will enable real-time monitoring of the latest status of loans being provided by banks, as well as business facilities including Letters of Credit (LCs).”

The prime minister instructed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) to take effective measures to enhance the capacity of SMEs, promote modern technology, increase productivity, and integrate them into global value chains.

The meeting reviewed the performance of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and First Women Bank with regard to lending.

The prime minister said that a 76 percent loan approval rate in housing finance by the National Bank of Pakistan was commendable, instructing the newly appointed President of NBP to engage the services of the best professionals to improve the bank’s performance and to take departmental action, without fear or favour, against employees who fail to deliver the required results.

He directed other provinces to accelerate the digitization of land records on the pattern of Punjab to facilitate housing finance for banks.

He said that digitization of land records would make it easier and more transparent for banks to provide housing loans.

The meeting was briefed on the statistics regarding the provision of loans to the housing, agriculture, and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors.

Under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme, loans worth Rs. 426 billion have so far been approved for 71,690 applicants, out of which Rs. 76 billion in loans have so far been disbursed to 13,214 individuals while a target has been set for the provision of Rs. 700 billion in loans for 125,000 residential units during the current year.

Similarly, the total volume of agricultural loans stands at Rs. 1,352 billion, benefiting 3.455 million people while a target has been set to increase the volume of agricultural loans to Rs. 1,500 billion and the number of beneficiaries to 4.5 million by June 2027, the meeting was briefed.

The meeting was informed that improved access to financial resources for the agriculture sector would enhance farmers’ productivity and promote economic activity.

Loans amounting to Rs. 1,137 billion have so far been provided to 350,000 SME entrepreneurs against the target of Rs. 1,500 billion to 565,000 entrepreneurs, by June 2027.

It was informed in the meeting that measures were being taken to provide SMEs with easier access to financial resources, facilitate investment in modern technology, and enable them to compete in international markets.

While steps are also being taken to further simplify and improve the revised regulations for SMEs and the procedures for housing finance.

The meeting was further briefed on ongoing measures including joint risk-sharing in lending, promotion of supply-chain financing, verified data sharing, and other initiatives.

The meeting was informed that digital systems are being promoted to spare customers seeking small loans from the need to make repeated visits to bank branches.

Federal Ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Attaullah Tarar, Prime Minister’s Adviser Haroon Akhtar, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad, and other senior government officials attended the meeting.