KARACHI: Dr. Reza Baqir, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), said on Wednesday that reforms introduced to address macroeconomic challenges have begun to bear fruit and an improvement in the external sector has become visible.
He made these comments during an interactive session with the members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Foreign Investors (OICCI).
Baqir added that macroeconomic stability would promote investment in the country and trigger growth while admitting that bold measures taken in the recent past were painful.
He explained that the average monthly current account deficit, a major concern for the economy, has been cut in half, exports have increased, unreserved foreign exchange reserves have stopped falling and, in fact, began to grow.
Baqir expected inflationary pressures to decrease as of the second half of the current fiscal year.
The president of OICCI, Shazia Syed, informed the governor that the economic contribution of the members of OICCI, which are among the main economic stakeholders, has reached more than $ 13 billion in the last seven years.
She said that OICCI members are positive in investment opportunities in the country despite the challenges facing the economy.
Syed also congratulated the governor for the immediate delivery of profits to the members of the OICCI despite the pressures on the country's foreign exchange reserves.
However, OICCI presented an exhaustive list of recommendations to the SBP governor, which included proposals to eliminate additional remittance approvals.
The chamber also suggested that the governor establish an online portal that allows banks to upload the application and supporting documents.
The governor also said that the central bank is moving towards digitalization and proactive participation that will address the main problems systematically.
The governor promised to consider several recommendations of the OICCI and emphasized the need for continuous dialogue.
Posted on Dawn, October 10, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1510041/stabilisation-efforts-bearing-fruit-sbp