By Omer Bilal Islamabad, Feb. 07 (INP-WealthPK): The global economy is recovering but the pace is slow amid rising uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic and growing international commodity prices. The World Economic Outlook (WEO, October-2021) has revised global growth projection down marginally for 2021 by 0.1 percentage point to 5.9 percent and kept the growth projection unchanged for 2022 at 4.9 percent. The Government of Pakistan has sustained economic growth by taking concrete steps in many fields, especially in the construction sector. The construction sector is interlinked with 17 industries, which have the potential to play a pivotal role in lining up the zig-zag track of economy. The country's annual demand of housing is estimated to be around 700,000 units, while only about half of this demand is currently being met. The government has introduced a remarkable initiative to boost the construction industry. Pakistan is the 5th most populous country in the world with 220 million citizens. The country has more than 60 million strong labour force and a growing middle class. Out of the total population, 36.38 percent resides in urban areas while 63.62 percent lives in the rural areas. There is a growing demand for houses due to the annual population growth rate of 2.4% as per 2017 Census. The country’s construction industry accounts for 2.53% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to the Pakistan Economic Survey. This sector employs 7.61% of the employed Pakistani labour force. GFCF (Gross fixed capital formation) in the private sector grew by 20.6% between FY2019 and FY2020, while the private sector GFCF amounted to over 95% of the total. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has given a boost to the construction sector through an influx of infrastructure projects including highways, power plants, and dams, while the private companies showed a keen interest in the housing industry which is equipped with modern technology. In this regard, the regulator mobilizing the REIT Regulation just to support the government initiative in the construction industry in the form of trust structure and REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) consists of trustees, the REIT Management Company (RMC) and unit holders. The key purpose is to identify a project and raise public money through the Initial Public Offering (IPO). Most REITs trade on major stock exchanges, offering a number of benefits to investors. TPL REIT Management Company Limited, a real estate development company in Pakistan, has announced plans to raise Rs80 billion with an initial volume of Rs18.35 billion through a private investment trust, which is considered one of the largest such fundraising initiatives in the country’s history. Ali Jameel, CEO of TPL Corp, said four companies of TPL were listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), whereas TPL had set up an REIT Management Company to target the construction sector, with an offer of internal rate of return of more than 30 percent in the local currency. He added that the TPL REIT Management Co was planning to collect 60pc of the targeted funds from overseas investors, 30pc from local investors and the rest from its parent TPL Properties Ltd. He said eligible developers and builders shall be exempted from withholding taxes on purchase of building materials. Dividend income paid to a person by a builder or developer company out of the profits and gains derived from a project shall be exempt from tax and also from tax withholding obligations. He said construction activities were witnessing a rapid growth due to access to finance for both the developer and the buyer, and the trend was expected to continue exponentially over the next couple of years.