Increase in interest rates would not slow down the pace of economic growth, which is expected to remain same during the current fiscal due to the bold steps taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
These views were expressed by the speakers in a public dialogue on "Impact of Increase in Interest Rates", organised by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) here on Thursday.
However, the speakers opposed the consumer financing especially the car financing and said that it could adversely harm the economic growth. They were of the view that government should stop car financing. Dr Kaiser Bengali, an economist, said that the SBP increased the interest rates to control inflation without affecting the economic growth.
Dr Shahid Hassan Siddiqui, Chairman, Research Institute of Islamic Bank & Finance, said that increased discount rates from 9 percent to 9.5 percent and revised export refinance rates from 9 percent to 7.5 percent in the SBP Monetary Policy were the positive steps for the country's economic growth. Former Vice President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) M A Jabbar said that policymakers made economic policies against the growth orientation and have given free hand to the manipulators.
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