KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday said that listing of local firms on the world leading online marketplace, Amazon.com likely help to increase exports of the country.
The central bank while discussing the digital connectivity at the time of coronavirus pandemic, said the Ministry of Commerce has facilitated enlisting more than 30 exporters on the world’s leading online marketplace, Amazon.com, on a trial basis.
“On a successful completion of the test-run, this will provide an opportunity to more domestic firms to sell via Amazon and expand their outreach to global markets. This could potentially open a new avenue for Pakistan to increase its exports and create new employment opportunities locally,” the SBP said.
Going forward, the cross-border B2C ecommerce regulatory framework developed by the SBP and the Web Based One Customs e-commerce module that is to be developed by the FBR, will help facilitate online sales of exporting firms by allowing hassle-free documentation and shipment of export orders.
The SBP said that Pakistani authorities have been proactively working on the digitization front during the past half-decade or so; positive developments include the approval of the country’s first ever e-commerce policy in 2019.
The policy aims to provide an enabling environment to private businesses, create new employment opportunities for youth and women, and provide an opportunity to the government to regulate the e-commerce sector in the public interest.
To track the implementation of the policy and to facilitate e-commerce businesses, a National Ecommerce Council (NEEC) has also been established.
Its main functions are to monitor and support the advancement of e-commerce in the private sector, foster innovation in the implementation of the necessary programs and initiatives, create awareness of the importance of e-commerce towards the overall growth in the economy, and provide relevant feedback and recommendations to the government.
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