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As
of 2005, the city's gross domestic product (GDP) by
purchasing power parity (PPP) is estimated at $28
billion with an average growth rate of 5.9
percent,ranked 122nd in the world.This makes
Lahore's GDP to equal 51% of Karachi's, in line with
it having 51% of the population of Karachi. Thus the
contribution of Lahore to the national economy comes
up to 13%. Which is 51% of the figure of Karachi
contributing 25% of Pakistan's total GDP. Central to
Lahore's economy is the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE),
Pakistan's second largest stock exchange. Lahore has
offices of all Pakistani government corporations
including the Water and Power Development Authority
(WAPDA) and the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA).
It also hosts the country's largest information
technology (IT) companies, most of which are located
in the IT park, which accounts for nearly 70 percent
of Pakistan's software exports. Food and
restaurant businesses remain open all night. The
shopping markets are usually open late into the
night. Lahore is the second largest
financial hub of Pakistan and has industrial areas
including Kot Lakhpat and the new Sundar Industrial
Estate (near Raiwand).
As
Lahore expands, former residential areas are being
turned into commercial centres, and the suburban
population is constantly moving outwards. This has
resulted in the development of the Liberty Market,
the MM Alam Road, the new Jail Road (which has some
of the largest office buildings in Lahore), and the
new eight-lane Main Boulevard, which has some of
Lahore's largest and finest shopping centres.
The
suburban population's move from commercial areas to
less busy areas supports a thriving construction
industry and several large housing projects
including Bahria Town, Lake City, Eden Villas, and a
project by the Dhabi Group (a joint Pakistan-UAE
partnership) to construct a new city on the
outskirts of Lahore.
Lahore
is famous as the hub of hand-made carpet
manufacturing in Pakistan.At present, hand-knitted
carpets produced in and around Lahore are among
Pakistan's leading export products, and their
manufacturing is the second-largest cottage and
small industry. Lahore-based carpet exports make up
nearly 85 percent of all carpet exports from
Pakistan. Craftsmen in Lahore can produce
any type of carpet using popular motifs such as
medallions, paisleys, traceries, and geometric
designs. The Lahore Design Centre at the Punjab
Small Industries Corporation maintains a separate
section of carpet designing to experiment with new
designs. Lahore is famous for single-wefted designs
in Turkoman and Caucasian style and double-wefted
Mughal types.
Lahore's
economic importance depends also on many government
institutes and international companies headquartered
in the city, including WorldCALL Telecom
Group,Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Cricket Board,
Punjab University, NCA,Deluxe Shoes Idustry Timber
Market , Bata shoes, Haier, Wateen Telecom, Warid
Telecom, Honda, Reebok, Daewoo, Nestle, Coca Cola,
Tetra Pak, Monsanto, Delaval, Metro Cash &
Carry, Mr Cod, Porsche, and Rolls Royce.
The
economy is also enhanced by Lahore's historic and
cultural importance, even though, unlike other
smaller cities, its industrial estates are far fewer
and smaller. Being the capital of the largest
province in Pakistan brings the city the biggest
development budget in the country.
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