• President SITE said SBP has dropped the interest bomb.
• He demanded the government not to succumb to the pressure.
• NKATI president requested the PM to withdraw the decision.

KARACHI: President SITE Association of Industry Riaz Uddin, while rejecting exorbitant increase in policy rate, saying that the MPC of SBP has dropped the interest bomb by jacking up the policy rate to 20% which will increase the KIBOR market to 22-23% making it impossible for the businesses to borrow money from the banking system.

Besides hitting the local Industry and Trade, the Export business will also be rendered uncompetitive whose refinance scheme is under jeopardy

As a result of such harsh measures, there will be a total collapse in the economy which is already in a negative growth mode as against last year’s growth rate of 6%, added the President SITE Association.

Riaz Uddin further said that in addition to today’s increase in interest rates, the earlier knee-jerk actions taken by the government, on the IMF-diktat such as the additional taxation measures, increase in energy rates, removal of concessionary tariff for the exporting industry and withdrawal of other subsidies have all been anti-business and anti-economic growth measures.

SITE Association of Industry demanded the Government and SBP not to succumb to the pressure of the Foreign Lenders to the detriment of our own country.

On the other hand, President North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry (NKATI) Faisal Moiz Khan, while expressing serious concerns over discontinuation of the Zero Rated Industrial (ZRI) package for the export-oriented sector under the pressure of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has rejected the Federal Cabinets’ decision.

In an appeal, NKATI president requested the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Federal Minister Energy Engr. Khurram Dastgir to withdraw the decision to discontinue the ZRI facility for zero-rated export industries in the best interest of the country’s economy. Otherwise, it will have a devastating impact on export industries, especially small and medium industries (SMEs) including textiles.

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Faisal requested that the government should facilitate by supporting the industries to bring the economy out of crisis, and bring economic prosperity so that we can stand on our feet again and create more employment opportunities.