PESHAWAR   -  Chairman Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textile Mills’ Association (KP-TMA) Salim Saifullah on Monday urged the KP government for offering lucrative incentives to attract investors to the province. 

In a statement, he said for the last ten years no new investment in the manufacturing sector had been made, especially by the private sector as the province of KP was badly hurt due to war against terror. He urged the government to play its role to attract new investment in the province. 

To attract new investment in the existing projects, he said, the province government had to come forward and provide lucrative incentives to the investors such as long-term financing i.e. financing for plant and machinery and construction of building at concessional rate, debt equity ratio be reduced from current ratio of 60:40 to 80:20. 

In support of his demand he gave example of Korean Plant, KIA and Hyundai which were established with the debt equity ratio of 90:10. 

“Moreover existing loans should be rescheduled for the next seven to eight years with a grace period of one year for payment of both principal and mark-up amount and payment of new loans to be paid back in next ten years with a moratorium of two years for payment of principal amount and mark-up amount after one year. This will provide some breathing period to the investors,” KP-TMA chief said. 

Salim Saifullah said that it was hard fact that revival of industry was the survival of economy so new investment in the province would not only generate economic activity, rather would also generate employment and export opportunity which is the need of the hour. “To combat terrorism and maintain law and order situation we have to generate new employment opportunities so that there is no room for such culprits to induce our youth in such activities, he added.