Single digit interest rate demanded to promote business activities

Islamabad : President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said that the State Bank of Pakistan has made significant hike in the policy interest rate due to which business activities are shrinking and if this situation continues.

The economy will weaken more in the coming days while the investment will also be discouraged, so he demanded of the government to bring the interest rate into single digit so that business can be promoted with ease and the economy can come out of current difficulties.

He expressed these views while addressing a delegation of Jhelum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which visited ICCI led by its President Malik Khawar Shehzad to congratulate the new Office Bearers of ICCI, says a press release.

Ahsan Bakhtawari said that the best way to bring Pakistan’s economy out of trouble is to significantly increase exports, but this is very difficult to do in an environment of high interest rate. Therefore, he strongly demanded that the government should bring down the interest rate to single digit which will increase business and investment activities and help improve the economy.

He said that currently the interest rate in Thailand is one per cent, Taiwan 1.63 per cent, Malaysia 2.5 per cent, South Korea 3 per cent, China 3.65 per cent, Bangladesh 5.75 per cent and India 5.9 per cent, but the interest rate in Pakistan is 15 per cent, which is the highest in the region, which is a major obstacle in the way of promoting business activities.

Malik Khawar Shehzad said in his address that due to high interest rate, high prices of POL & utility tariffs and other factors, business and industrial activities are facing great difficulties due to which about 1600 textile factories have been closed.

ICCI Group Leader Khalid Iqbal Malik, JCCI Group Leader Raja Anwar, FPCCI Vice President Qazi Akbar, Zafar Bakhtawari, Zubair Ahmad Malik, Mohammad Ijaz Abbasi, Malik Sohail Hussain and others also spoke at the occasion.