LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appreciated the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decision to cut interest rate by one percent and said that it will help stimulate private sector growth.
In a statement, LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz said that the State Bank of Pakistan governor deserves appreciation for bringing down the interest rate to seven percent.
Ijaz A Mumtaz, however, called for measures to make interest rate cut meaningful and result-oriented, because if other economic factors were not tackled, they would continue to create problems for the economy in general and for the private sector in particular.
The LCCI president said that perhaps the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is the only chamber of commerce in the country that had termed a considerable cut in policy rate a panacea to low investment phenomenon.
The LCCI president said that the cut will help ensure availability of cheaper money to cash-starved private sector. besides encouraging the potential foreign investors for investment in Pakistan.
He, however, hoped that in upcoming monetary policy, the interest rates would further be revised.
He said that the provision of ample cheaper liquidity is a must to create new businesses but in the last five years the higher interest rate kept the private sector growth at the lowest ebb, causing huge damage to the businesses, while the unemployment graph also witnessed an unusual surge.
The LCCI president urged the State Bank of Pakistan governor to review all other economy-related banking policies and facilitate the private sector that is engine of growth.
