PESHAWAR: Leader Businessman Forum (BF), former senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour described retaining policy rate at 22 percent as unfair and detrimental for business, industrial and economic growth and demanded to bring it down to 12 percent.

A statement issued here on Saturday, Ilyas Bilour, a leading businessman of the country recalled that the PML-N led government in its previous tenure had brought down the interest rate by a single digit. The BF leader asked: “How will the business community gain loans from commercial banks at this highest interest rate?” He added it is quite difficult for the business community to repay loans to the banks with an interest rate of 25 per cent. Businessmen are already in high trouble in the prevailing circumstances and getting loans from the commercial banks at markup of 25 per cent is not only difficult but completely impossible for them, Bilour said.

The BF leader said the government is borrowing from commercial banks through T-bill. He said if the central government asked the Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to bring down the interest rate to 12 percent from current 22 per cent that will accelerate the process of business, trade and industrialization and stabilize the national economy as well. He maintained prices will go down by making a drastic cut in interest rate that will provide relief to the poor segment of the society.

Ilyas Bilour said SBP is an independent institute of the country but the government must take action over retaining policy rate at the highest level. He said autonomy doesn’t mean that whatever it wishes to do and whatever not to do.

The BF leader urged the government and State Bank of Pakistan to bring down the current policy rate from 22 to 12 percent.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024