Entertainment sector gets industry status

March 13th, 2008 Sana · No Comments

*Power tariff of the entertainment sector would also be taken up separately with NEPRA to reduce the cost of entertainment business: Salmaan Taseer

Staff Report

LAHORE: The federal cabinet has decided to grant status of industry to the entertainment sector comprising studios, TV channels, production and animation houses, said Mr Salmaan Taseer, Caretaker Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives at a press briefing in Lahore at the offices of SMEDA. He said that the power tariff of the entertainment sector would also be taken up separately with NEPRA to reduce the cost of entertainment business.

Mr Taseer said that the federal cabinet, on the recommendation of the MoIP&SI, had agreed to allow duty free import of equipment to be used by the entertainment industry. The ministry, in consultation with the stakeholders, would prepare a list of such equipment that would be submitted to the federal Board of Revenue to get a formal SRO released in this connection, he added.

Mr Taseer said that the government would facilitate the entertainment sector by building the necessary infrastructure, conduct focused research and expand the skill base through training and house incubation facilities.

He said the issue of the power tariff of the entertainment sector would also be taken up separately with NEPRA.The minister observed that Pakistan’s entertainment industry had been plagued by a number of ills, most of them chronic in nature and difficult to eradicate in the short run. But given the significance of the sector both in the context of promoting much needed social tranquillity and economic well being of people associated with it, the GoP was committed to facilitate the development of the entertainment industry. In 2006, the global entertainment industry stood at an estimated US$ 1.45 trillion with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3 percent to reach US$ 1.9 trillion by 2009.

The minister said he had advised SMEDA last month to get busy with the stakeholders of the entertainment sector and prepare a phased short to long-term entertainment industry development strategy. By now it had identified a number of growth barriers and devised a detailed course of action to overcome the challenges.

“In this regard a number of consultative sessions with industry key stakeholders were held recently,” he said, adding that the proposals emanating from the consultations were presented to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on January12, 2008. The ECC has granted approval to the first set of proposals presented by the Ministry of Industries, Production & Special Initiatives (MoIP&SI), which include declaring the entertainment sector an industry and allowing zero-rated import of the equipment to be used by this industry.

Shahab Khawaja, Federal Secretary, MoIP&SI, Shahid Rashid CEO SMEDA, Jamshed Zafar, Usman Peerzada, Ms.Sherin, Mr. Noor-ul-Hussan and number of the stakeholders from Entertainment sector were present on this occasion.