Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Tariq Bajwa on Tuesday said that current account deficit is a major challenge to the economy. He said this while chairing a session of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) conference. Bajwa said devaluation of rupee against dollar is owing to the widening current account deficit.
He said that he would issue a policy statement on stability of rupee. Bajwa said small and medium enterprises, agriculture sector and home loans are priority areas of the SBP. He said that an SME policy will be announced soon. Bajwa said that loans to the private sector have increased by 60 percent during the last four years while machinery imports increased by 40 percent. The Governor SBP stated that SME sector is important for economic growth and employment generation while agriculture sector gives results in 90 to 120 days.
He said that the Islamic banking is growing in the country and the government has taken many steps in this regard.
Later, during an informal discussion with media persons, a senior official on condition of anonymity stated that it can not be stated as to when and what measures will be taken by the SBP for the stability of rupee. The official added that the situation with respect to stability of rupee will become clear in two to three days.
The Muhammad Irfan Memorial Lecture was delivered by Professor Asim Ejaz Khawaja on the topic of "Becoming a Learning Organization." The session was chaired by the Governor SBP. A special session to celebrate the 60 Years of PIDE was also held on the first day of the conference. Earlier in the day, the Allama Iqbal Lecture, Muhammad Irfan Memorial Lecture, and first parallel technical session were held. The theme of the Allama Iqbal Lecture was "Science, Technology & Innovation for Socio-economic Development."
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