Islamabad: Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) said that the record high interest rate has made it very difficult for the private sector to get credit from banks for the expansion of existing businesses and make new investments due to which the business activities are suffering badly. He stressed that the government should make a significant cut in the policy interest rate to provide affordable credit to the private sector that would accelerate the pace of business activities and help revive the economy. He said that the bank advances to the private sector have declined to just Rs.208 billion in the financial year 2023 compared to over Rs.1329 billion in the financial year 2022 due to which the GDP of the country has contracted significantly. He said that this dangerous trend can only be reversed by providing enhanced credit at an affordable rate to the private sector. He said this while addressing a meeting of the business community.
Zubair Ahmed Malik, former President FPCCI and ICCI said that the government has set an economic growth target of 2-3 percent, which can only be possible by providing an easy credit facility to the private sector. He said that the production of all major industries of large scale manufacturing sector including textile, paper board, iron and steel products, electrical equipment, automobiles, and furniture have shown a reduction of over 4 percent in October and if this trend continues, it would not be possible for the government to achieve its set growth target. He said that the facilitation of the private sector is the best option for the government to improve the economic growth of the country.
Zafar Bakhtawari, former President ICCI, and Secretary General UBG Pakistan said that the World Bank has already cautioned Pakistan about the risks of reversals of critical policy reforms after the February elections due to the influence of some vested interests. He stressed that the incoming government should ensure policy consistency to improve the confidence of the private sector in making long-term business and investment plans for the country.
Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi former President ICCI, Sardar Tahir Mehmood President Federation of Realtors Pakistan, Muhammad Naveed Malik former Senior Vice President ICCI, and others also spoke on the occasion and stressed that the government should promote ease of doing business to facilitate the growth of business and economic activities.
