Guys I view industrial small scale production all the time on different video platforms in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and IMHO I'd say Pakistan has a far superior industrial basis than Bangladesh on small scale Industrial sector (although a bit backdated in technology but very self-sustaining nonetheless).
The basis of economical production In small scale sector are all local raw materials, sometimes recycled. I will highlight some videos here for you all to see,
It is my belief that you will realize how active/productive Pakistani small-scale Industrial sector is and how we in Bangladesh can collaborate with that sector in Pakistan to improve ours - maybe using JV's and/or employing Pakistani machinery and experts who are in a unique position to help us.
The tech used is what is termed 'appropriate technology' whose main advantage is extreme low overhead and economical methods to make products of "high enough" and "acceptable" quality in remote areas, where low investment and backdated technology are advantages, not barriers to production.
Making products using automation and in super clean conditions like Walton often entail high cost. I have immense respect for these hard-working Mehnati folks in Pakistan who work in demanding conditions to earn a living. I guess some introduction to safety regimes (like covers for rollers and gears and shoes for workers who handle molten metal) would not hurt in some cases.
Industrialisation is dependent on several factors. Both Bangladesh & Pakistan must be having much more potential then what they are currently producing. In Pakistan Industrialisation and Industries have been moving on a backwards trajectory for some time now. The reason being:
1. Law & order (Too much terrorism since 2001-2015) Investor confidence shattered. Lots of foreign investment went to other countries. Lots of local investors moved abroad.
2. Low ease of doing business (Unstable, ever changing economic and industrial policies. Ease of business index has greatly improved recently under IK govt.)
3. Expensive electricity, gas & water. ( This is perhaps the most important point which is affecting our long term economic growth. No mega dam was made in past 4 decades seriously affecting our water security and jacking up electricity prices, there is a shortage of gas and there might be serious water shortage in coming years as well. Same can be said for oil & gas exploration. Successive corrupt governments did not focus on long term projects, they focussed on short term projects which made us economically weak and debt ridden.)
4. There is direct access to China There is no point manufacturing a lot of things when they are already available at cheap rates from China. This means that we end up trading are dollars which are already scarce for even very basic, little commodities. But overall, neighbouring China is a blessing since China is able to offer anything at most competitive price. If we can value add and make a better product out of Chinese raw materials, we can win big time. However unfortunately currently we are just importing most of the stuff)
5. Corruption & money laundering: Most politicians and ruling elites are interested in making easy money. The corruption money ends up in offshore accounts. Some of it is then laundered back into the country, however is never invested in anything productive.
6. The curse of real estate: If in any country real estate prices are rising rapidly but everything else is stagnant, it is a big indicator that industry of that country is at a halt. All money is being parked in the real estate. Often, there is more artificially inflated real-estate in the country then there could be demand of. In Pakistan real estate is the only booming business, which tells you the sad affair of the economy.
However potential of Pakistan is great. The minds we have available here are top notch. If we want to get something done, we can get it done. In 70s though our industry was booming, Chinese businessmen were coming to Pakistan to inspect our industrial growth. We were the fastest growing country in the region and then we kept going down the rabbit hole! Circular debt is the biggest problem these days. debt cannot be paid of without reducing imports and increasing exports. However to do that we need to first have a lot of money to build dams and find more gas & oil reserves. If we take loans to fund these projects, it becomes a bit counter productive because IMF would slap more levies on the electricity, offsetting the benefit. Imran Khan is trying to navigate through that, he is trying to reduce more loans, pay off previous ones, attract investment and improve domestic production. However so far everything has been a challenge, covid closed everything, fuel prices are going up, opposition is giving a tough time, media is often biased, mafias from political elites and bureaucracy have been trying their best to create hurdles and he has not got absolute majority either to speed up law making/ approving bills in the parliament.
