Pakistan, Oct. 8 -- Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the relevant authorities to remove obstacles hindering the provision of financial resources to the housing, agriculture, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sectors, saying that the lending system should be made more effective.

Chairing a review meeting regarding access to finance, the prime minister also directed to make the SME Portal operational by the end of November to facilitate the provision of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. "The SME Portal will enable real-time monitoring of the latest status of loans being provided by banks, as well as business facilities including Letters of Credit (LCs)."

The prime minister instructed the Small a...