LAHORE: Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, Statistics and Privatization, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting with representatives of Exchange Companies here on Thursday.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra and other SBP officials attended the meeting.
While, the representatives of exchange companies briefed the Finance Minister about the issues faced by them and also discussed in detail the trends and developments in foreign exchange market.
The meeting noted that the external account of Pakistan is stable on the back of lower commodity prices, healthy workers’ remittances, and continued support from the international financial institutions.
As a result of these developments and the overall macroeconomic stability achieved by the Government in the last two years, the country’s foreign exchange reserves have reached an all-time high level of USD 20.44 billion.
The participants agreed that in the backdrop of stable outlook in the external account, the recent exchange rate fluctuations in the kerb market are not justified.
To curb speculative pressures in the kerb market, the representatives of exchange companies shared their views and made suggestions.
The Finance Minister directed FBR to require importers to produce proof of payment and origin of payment for non LC imports at the time of custom clearance.