Islamabad:Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said an SME portal be made functional by the end of November to facilitate provision of loans to small and medium enterprises.

He said 76 percent approval of loans in housing finance department of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is appreciable

He directed newly appointed president of NBP to hire services of the best professionals to upgrade performance of bank. Departmental proceedings be initiated against the officials of NBP who fail in yielding desired result.

He said this while chairing a high level review meeting regarding provision of loan to small and medium enterprises and agriculture sector in Islamabad Wednesday.

The Prime Minister directed Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority to take effective measures to enhance the capacity of SMEs, promote modern technology, increase productivity and integrate them with global value chains.

The Prime Minister also instructed other provinces to accelerate digitization of land records on the pattern of Punjab to facilitate housing finance by banks.

He said digitization of land records will make the process of obtaining housing loans easier and more transparent.

The meeting was briefed that under the Prime Minister's Apna Ghar Scheme, seventy-one thousand six hundred and ninety loans worth four hundred and twenty-six billion rupees have so far been approved, while loans worth seventy-six billion rupees have been disbursed to thirteen thousand two hundred and fourteen people. A target has been set to provide seven hundred billion rupees in loans for one hundred and twenty-five thousand housing units during the current year.

The meeting was further informed that the total volume of agricultural loans has reached one thousand three hundred and fifty-two billion rupees, benefiting three million four hundred and fifty-five thousand people. The target is to increase agricultural lending to one thousand five hundred billion rupees and the number of beneficiaries to four point five million by June next year.

The meeting was apprised that loans amounting to one thousand one hundred and thirty-seven billion rupees have been provided to three hundred and fifty thousand SME businesses. The target is to increase SME lending to one thousand five hundred billion rupees and the number of borrowing businesses to five hundred and sixty-five thousand by June 2027.

The meeting was also briefed on measures to facilitate SMEs' access to finance, encourage investment in modern technology and enable them to compete in international markets. Steps are also being taken to revise SME regulations and further simplify and improve the housing finance mechanism.

The meeting was informed on joint risk-sharing mechanisms, promotion of supply-chain financing, authenticated data sharing and other ongoing measures to improve access to credit.

It was said that digital systems are being promoted to save customers seeking small loans from repeated visits to bank branches.

The meeting was attended by federal ministers Rana Tanvir Hussain, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Atta Ullah Tarar and others.