FPCCI terms monetary policy as doomsday for trade, industry

FPCCI terms monetary policy as doomsday for trade, industry

KARACHI: Pakistan apex trade body has termed the monetary policy announcement as doomsday for trade and industry.

Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in a statement on Friday categorically termed the monetary policy as the worst in country’s economic history; and, has predicted that it will bring the economic, trade, investment and commercial activities on a standstill – a doomsday scenario for the business, industry and trade community of Pakistan.

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Irfan Iqbal Sheikh highlighted that Pakistan now ranks one of the lowest in access to finance and cost of doing business indices in almost the entire region; and, instead of consulting the business community, the government has continued their tradition of consultation-less policymaking; consequently, ignoring the real stakeholders of the economy.

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FPCCI Chief has apprised that now commercial banks would not lend to the businesses for anything less than 22.5– 23 percent interest rates; and, no business can find it affordable anymore.

This will result in the complete drying up of the private-sector lending from the banking or formal sectors; which has already been availed only by approximately 7 percent of the businesses over the past many years, he added.

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Irfan Iqbal Sheikh has proposed that the entire business community has to start a national-level campaign to persuade all political parties to sign a comprehensive, non-political, legally-binding and long-term charter of economy aimed at ensuring continuity in economic, fiscal, taxation, trade, industrial, investment, agricultural and food, IT & Telecom, energy and SME policies for the next 15 years.

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Suleman Chawla, SVP FPCCI, added that, coupled with the historical hike in the policy rate, the government has also abruptly withdrawn the subsidy to the 5 export-oriented sectors on power tariff – which are already burgeoned under the current abysmal ease of doing business environment & investor sentiment in the country.

How the mainstay of Pakistani exports, i.e. textiles & allied products, can even repeat FY22’s export performance of $19.3 billion after these anti-industry & anti-exports measures, he added.