This would help achieve the dual objective of making the country self-sufficient in terms of industrial raw material, while also providing incentives to farmers to grow non-traditional high value crops. Finally, I will move to the third priority area, i.e. low-cost housing finance. Pakistan is facing a shortage of 10 million housing units and this number is growing.
This basic human need is felt more profoundly at the bottom-of-the-pyramid comprising of the poor and financially under-served segments of the society. To this end, SBP has undertaken various initiatives to promote and develop housing finance in Pakistan. Key initiatives include separate Prudential Regulations, setting up of the Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company, capacity-building measures, and creating an enabling regulatory framework.