President Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Muhammad Ishaq has urged the State Bank to revisit its decision pertaining to retaining the policy rate at a high level which he said would adversely affect the national economy and industry.
According to a press release, issued here, on Monday, the SCCI president, while chairing a meeting of industrialists here at the chamber’s house, said business, trade and industrial activities had already stagnated so the current high-interest rate needed to bring down from the current 15 percent to a single digit while keeping in view the prevailing scenario.
The meeting was attended by the SCCI’s senior vice president Shahid Hussain, vice president Ejaz Khan Afridi, former senior vice president Imran Khan Mohmand and others.
Ishaq opposed fixed charge, saying that high power tariff was a “major cause of sluggish growth in business and industries,” asking the fixation of electricity charges as per previous maximum demand indicators (MDIs) policy because the high prices were not beneficial for industries and businesses.
The SCCI’s chief argued that the high policy rate was causing business and industrial activities to hamper, consequently cost of industrial production had escalated, owing to which, price-hike had hit the poor segments of the society.
Linking economic revival with political stability, Ishaq clarified that when the economy will exist then political survival will be made possible.
Therefore, he urged the government and state bank of Pakistan (SBP) to bring down the interest rate from 15 percent to single digit and take proactive measures for giving relief, incentives and facilities to the business community.—APP
