Industrialists on Tuesday urged the government to introduce an economic stimulus package, saying that it was necessary to restore the confidence of local and foreign investors. Talking to reporters here, President of Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) Mian Anis A Sheikh said that Pakistan urgently needed an "economic revival package", adding that the government was running out of time to spur industrial growth.
"Macroeconomic conditions are worsening at a faster than anticipated pace and we need to stem this," said the MCCI president. "I am requesting the government to announce an economic revival package, besides reducing the benchmark mark-up rate to single digit."
He said that Pakistan's economic performance was worse than during 2008-09 when the global financial crisis started. Acknowledging that the government had little room to manoeuvre, Sheikh said that Pakistan was battling to rein in gaping fiscal and current account deficits. "Unless the government and State Bank act now, a few months down the line, the economy will probably go beyond the threshold of credible intervention to salvage it," the MCCI president maintained.