Pakistan as an economic superpower

EVERYBODY knows that the country has all the resources to become an economic power but nobody knows 'whats wrong with us. By 1969, Pakistans manufactured exports were higher than the exports of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia combined and today they are far ahead of us individually. Let me share with you some of the glaring facts that need to be brought into the limelight so that the people at large could have an understanding of the potential the country has. Pakistan is the 24th largest economy in the world (according to Purchasing Power criterion), 45th Largest economy in the world (according to absolute US Dollars term), 6th Biggest Country in the world (according to population out of 230 countries), 36th Biggest country in the world (according to area), Largest irrigation network in the world, One of the eighth Nuclear Powers in the World and second biggest technical workforce (in absolute numbers) in the Muslim world (after Turkey). Surprised? We just love to hate ourselves, but never realize the true potential that Pakistan has to offer. We must think positive and trust me we can reach for the sky There are some further stunning economic revelations: Pakistan has second largest coal reserves in the world, one of the largest gold mines at a single area. The country has 30 per cent of the world textile yarn trade, Fourth Largest producer of Cotton, 6th biggest fabrics (woven) manufacturer in the world, Third biggest producer of Milk, 3rd largest producer of Apricots, 5th Largest producer of Dates, 4th largest producer of Onions, 3rd Largest producer of chickpeas, 5th largest producer of sugarcane. If we are so good as given above what we lack is proper marketing of our products in order to achieve hard cash, i.e. dollars. We need to find markets for the above products internationally and provide logistic channels to take them from the farms and deliver them. Electricity how can the economy grow when it only gets electricity for 66 per cent of the time So if we can solve the electricity problem the economy can grow by 34 per cent. Gas - all our major manufacturing sectors use gas; gas load-shedding to the industry cuts down the production by 30 per cent in a year; so by increasing gas supply we can increase our manufacturing production. Interest Rates with the banks lending to the business community from 18% to 20% how can anyone survive? We can increase our economy by 20 per cent if we can bring the interest rates down to 5 per cent. The mathematics of the above is simple: 20 percent interest rate plus eight per cent administrative costs plus 30 per cent loss due to less production as a result of gas and electricity shortage plus10 per cent minimum profit that any business requires to run. Is equal to = 68% -This is the required return that a Pakistani businessman would require in order to run. No business in the world gives a return of 68% So how can Pakistani businessman survive ? Of course Pakistan can become Economic Super Power like USA, Europe, or China. A little attention towards the excavation and proper utilization of coal can do the miracle. The total quantity of coal reserves in Pakistan is 175 billion tons and if the average price of coal in the world market is $70/ton, the total value of our coal reserves $12,250,000,000,000 (12.3 Trillion Dollars). That is the total amount of money that the US government has borrowed from its banks in the last 200 years. The answers to all our problems are simple- we must think positive, solve our electricity and gas problems, massively reduce interest rates, and exploit our natural resources on war-footing and I can guarantee that Pakistan can become the next economic super power. The author is Acamar Textiles CEO. He was awarded the Businessman of the year Gold Medal.