STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Wednesday urged the government to announce a bailout package for the coronavirus-hit small medium enterprises (SMEs) at the earliest. ICCI President Muhammad Ahmed Waheed, in a statement, said due to the COVID-19, business and industrial firms had been closed for the last one month due to which they were were on the verge of bankruptcy. They were looking towards the government for relief measures so that they could cope with critical situation. He said due to closure of industries, workers were also without work, whose day to day food needs were being met by industrialists. He said the due date of commercial and industrial utility bills was also approaching and the SMEs might default if the lockdown continued for long. ICCI President said in the wake coronavirus pandemic, many countries had come out with relief packages for the SMEs, and Pakistan should also follow suit. He said the SMEs were the backbone of national economy and the government should announce a bailout package for them on priority to ease out their problems. He said the State bank of Pakistan had increased the regulatory limit on extension of credit for the SMEs that was a good step. Likewise, the mark-up rate of bank on loans should also be brought down to below 5 percent so that the SMEs could avail the credit facilities for reviving their business activities. He said many SMEs had obtained loans from banks for expansion and new investment and their repayment along with mark-up should be deferred for three to six months.
