SOEs Lose Rs. 2.2 Billion Per Day, Rs. 6 Trillion in Past 10 Years: Finance Minister

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday said state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are incurring daily losses of Rs. 2.2 billion, with total losses amounting to Rs. 6 trillion over the last decade. Addressing a seminar organized by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Aurangzeb proposed that 50 percent of these SOEs should be privatized to improve efficiency and reduce fiscal expenditure. He also noted that Pakistan faces significant challenges due to rising population growth like child stunting and a high number of out-of-school children. The Finance Minister stressed the importance of controlling the population growth rate and warned that failure to do so would make the existing matters much worse. He also emphasized that the private sector must play a key role in enhancing the national economy. Aurangzeb announced that the Prime Minister will outline a comprehensive economic roadmap for the country within the next 10 days.