RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) expressed serious concerns over rupee fall and asked State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to check volatility in the foreign exchange market, as the rupee traded as high as 170 per dollar in the interbank market in this week.
RCCI President Saboor Malik in a statement said that the depreciation of Pakistani rupee would have a massive negative impact on the already fragile economy of the country. “The dollar has risen to an all-time high against Pakistani rupee, 170 per dollar, in the interbank market and it must be controlled, as it could have a devastating impact on all segments of society, particularly the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),” he added.
He said that it was noticed that the fall of rupee in interbank from Rs 158 per dollar to Rs 170 per dollar in just 8 days should be a cause of great concern for policymakers and monitoring bodies.
While appreciating the SBP relief package, President RCCI said this will give a big breathing space and relief to consumers who were using consumer financing. However, SBP should stretched this package to corporate sector mainly manufacturers and industry.
He said that due to coronavirus issue, trade, industry and manufacturing activities have come to a halt, but industrialists have to pay markup on loans besides paying wages to workers.
While appealing to Governor Raza Baqir, he said that business community is waiting for a comprehensive package for all sectors. The mark ups should be waived off and loan payments must be deferred to one year, he added.
