Interest rates likely to fall: Sindh governor

Imran Ismail says businessmen will soon hear good news but it will be gradual

KARACHI: Interest rates are now expected to fall, said Sindh Governor Imran Ismail while once again pointing the finger at previous governments for the higher interest rates and debt.

Addressing a ceremony at the Expo Centre on Friday, he said past governments made expensive deals with private power generation companies as well as purchased expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG), which damaged the economy. These power plants would still have to be paid on a "take or pay" basis, he added.

Ismail emphasised that if Prime Minister Imran Khan had not interfered with the wrong decisions the situation would have been very bad. The PM's economic team was working day and night to keep the economy in the right direction and to provide an environment conducive for the industrial sector and business community, he added. The governor said without the promotion of industries in the country, the economy could not be built on a sustainable footing.

Ismail pointed out that interest rates were likely to come down and the business community would soon hear good news but it would be gradual.

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Speaking on the occasion, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Anjum Nisar said electricity prices in Pakistan were double than those in competing countries.

"Competition is difficult for Pakistani industries due to expensive electricity," Nisar said, adding that the high cost of electricity was a problem for both the government and the industry.

The FPCCI president called the high interest rates a major problem for the industries and said a reduction in the rates was inevitable for establishing new industries in the country.

He said the prime minister had announced that electricity tariffs would be maintained for the five major export industries, but other industries continued to buy expensive electricity.

He appealed to the Sindh governor to convey the challenges faced by the industrial sector and business community to the prime minister and the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29^th, 2020.

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