Export-led growth requires business-friendly environment: LCCI

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) urged the government to create a more accommodating climate for trade, streamline rules and provide effective facilitation, with the aim of lifting exports and industrial output. LCCI President Ali Hussam Asghar made the case while meeting a group of industrialists from Ferozepur Road on Tuesday, according to Business Recorder. Senior Vice President Sardar Usman Ghani and Vice President Chaudhry Khadim Hussain also addressed the gathering.

Ali pledged that the chamber would take up the industrialists' grievances with relevant departments and push to clear unnecessary obstacles. He also announced a priority ad-hoc committee under Adeeb Iqbal Sheikh to address key industrial concerns. On enforcement, he said inspections should not halt industrial and commercial operations, and fines or corrective steps should be preferred over criminal cases for violations that can be rectified, noting that FIR registrations were harming the business climate.

Delegates raised complaints about WASA bills, payment procedures, FIRs lodged by WASA and the Lahore Development Authority, and poor roads, drainage and sanitation on Ferozepur Road. Delegation leader Adeeb Iqbal Sheikh said members were prepared to settle genuine dues but asked authorities to resolve disagreements through dialogue and mutual understanding. Usman Ghani called for business representation in policymaking and for respect for industrialists and traders.