ISLAMABAD: The government is committed to bring down budget deficit to 4 percent of GDP through strict monetary discipline and taking foreign exchange reserves to $15 billion by December end.
Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar stated this while talking to representatives of All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS). The minister declared that the country was the road to progress as all macroeconomic indicators had improved considerably.
He claimed that fiscal deficit had been reduced brought down to 5.2 percent from 8.8 through enhancing revenue collection by 16 percent and other austerity measures.
The Finance Minister said that the foreign exchange reserves had increased to $14 billion and would touch $15 billion by the current month.
Dar informed that the government had floated Sukkuk bonds after 7 years and received a great response. “The government has issued the Sukkuk bonds on the demand of Islamic Banks and got $2.3 billion offers in this regard,” the minister added.
He further said that the Japanese agency JITRO had announced that Pakistan would be the second best choice for foreign investment, while international financial institutions had said the country could become the 18th biggest economy of the world.
