KARACHI:
Interim Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar stated on Saturday that only the SBP’s main interest rate could alter the trajectory of the economy in the face of fiscal imbalance caused by the ever-widening gap between revenue and spending. The SBP is scheduled to publish its monetary policy on October 30.
“If the fiscal account is unbalanced and the current account deficit is high, only the monetary rate can fix the situation,” she remarked at a ceremony hosted by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) in Karachi.
She went on to say that an increase in the current account was one visible sign of success. The minister admitted that inflation was still present but declining under the current caretaker arrangement.
Dr. Akhtar insisted that all IMF and World Bank programs were being carried out as planned. She also mentioned that on November 2, a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be visiting Pakistan to learn more about the steps being taken to put its program into action.
After receiving the $700 million tranche from the Washington-based lender, the interim minister stated that the IMF program was on track and that inflows from other international organizations will follow.
Dr. Akhtar stated that the interim set-up had heard the industries’ concerns and was making an effort to address them. She also said that the interim premier has ordered an economic recovery plan to be prepared.
To rescue the economy from its current crisis is my responsibility. There is a lot of effort being put in to reach this goal. She went on to say that, despite only being in office for two months, the caretaker administration had made every effort to act responsibly.
The interim minister stated that the economic troubles the country was experiencing were well known by the time the caretaker set up assumed its responsibilities on August 17.
It was not an easy task, but we attempted a rapid economic recovery. We can’t afford to squander much time, therefore we’re concentrating on our tasks,” she explained.
Dr. Akhtar said he would discuss the pharmaceutical industry with the appropriate government agency. She insisted that the economic recovery process was under way. We’d want to move quickly, but this will take some time.
The minister predicted a growth rate of 2-3%, noting that this was the World Bank’s conservative projection.
She noted that the large-scale industrial and power sector had increased for the first time in 14 months, which she attributed to the successes of the interim set-up.
Cement and tractor manufacturing have both seen increases in output. The sales of fertilizers have bounced back quickly, and cotton output is up 80%. The number of loans taken out by farmers rose by 44% between July and September.
The dollar, she noted, was holding steady at Rs279 in the interbank market. “The rupee’s value has increased by 8 percent.”
The minister reflected on the time when the dollar hit Rs305 at the interbank market. She praised border patrol and customs officials for their efforts to prevent the illegal entry of currency. She also mentioned the reforms implemented by exchange businesses as contributing factors to the stability of the rupee.There’s the Pak (national) home feature 1!
