FAISALABAD: Pakistan has achieved macro-economic stabilization in March and now efforts are being made to lock in this performance with effective, prudent and progressive monetary policy, said Dr Umer Farooq Saqib, Additional Director, State Bank of Pakistan.
He was addressing an awareness session in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) on ‘Formulation of Monetary Policy and its implementation’.
He said that ultimate objective of the monetary policy is the effective management of money and exploitation of this important tool for the overall economic growth and betterment of common men. He also explained in detail the mechanism of price spiral, inflation and policy rate coupled with other elements responsible to regulate the money management. He said that SBP has to undertake a multi-disciplinary strategy to stabilize prices to expedite the economic growth and main streaming of the low-socio-economic classes.
He also explained in detail upheavals in the economy and said that the world economy started showing improvement from last year. The oil import bill of Pakistan was trimmed and foreign remittances recorded a substantial increase. However, the performance of our export sector remained below expectation. He also pointed out that the over-subscription of Pakistani Sukuk in international market reflects a healthy and positive aspect of our national economy.
He repeated that macro-economic indicators were stabilized and now government is fully concentrating to keep this process sustained. He also touched upon GSP Plus Status to Pakistan and said that we could not fully exploit the available potential of this facility and are only concentrating on the export of textile products. He urged upon the exporters to fully capitalize this facility by increasing export in other sectors also. He said that a considerable improvement is also witnessed in viability of credit to the private sector. However, the change will be visible in September this year.
Earlier President FCCI Engr. Rizwan Ashraf explained the importance of Faisalabad and the role of FCCI in the economic development of this agro-industrial city. He told that textile is the mainstay of local economy and this city is contributing 50-55 percent towards textile exports of the country. Similarly, Faisalabad is ranked second in revenue generation. He said that textile sector is earning precious foreign exchange in addition to providing 45 percent jobs to the workforce in Pakistan. He termed FCCI as a bridge between Government and business community and said that we are fully cooperating with Government and Government Departments in achieving economic stability in the country.
He welcomed organizing of this Session by SBP and said that it will help business community to fully understanding the nitty-gritty of the Monetary Policy.
Muzammal Sultan, Ch. Nawaz, Jamil Ahmed and other participated in the Question Answer Session while SVP Nadeem Allahwala thanked to the participants for their active participation in the Session. Later Engr. Rizwan Ashraf presented a shield to Umer Farooq. Amer Nazir Bhatti, Chief Manager, SBP and heads of other banks were also present during this awareness session.
