Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has shown dismay on the government decisions for maintaining the interest rate unchanged at 13.25 percent.

In a statement issued here, President RCCI Saboor Malik said that the business community is hoping that interest rates would fall.

Even in the government corridors, the people are hinting at lowering the interest rate, Saboor added.

Few days back, Governor State Bank (SBP) Reza Baqir informed the business community about the improvement and stabilization of the country's economic situation and economic indicators, he further added.

The export-oriented industry is fast losing markets in the USA, European Union and African markets due to the increased cost of doing business, he said.

The real engine of growth is the private sector, which may face further uncertainty on retaining interest rate. The government must act promptly here, he added.

The purchasing power of the people has already been adversely affected due to currency depreciation and higher inflation and if interest rate does not drop sharply in the next couples of months, it would add more pain to the industrial sector growth, including SME's.

The RCCI chief stressed upon State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to focus on regulating the government spending and unabated borrowing instead of increasing bank interest which had badly affected the manufacturing and industrial sector.-PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019