Lobbying for benefits: FPCCI calls for interest rate cuts

FPCCI urges the government to cut interest rates in the upcoming monetary policy announcement.

ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged the government to cut interest rates in the upcoming monetary policy announcement in order to spur economic growth in the country. “The economy is showing positive signs, while inflation has hit the lowest level in five and a half years, supporting demands for a cut in interest rates,” said Tariq Mehmood, chairman of the FPCCI Committee on Health, in a statement issued on Tuesday. He warned that holding the policy rate in the upcoming review may restrict recovery in some critical industrial and agricultural sectors. The economy will recover at a fast pace if the State Bank eases its monetary policy to ensure lending rates which boost private sector demand for bank credit, Mehmood said. “A pro-growth policy will help the government reduce borrowing, cut domestic debt servicing costs, and boost developmental spending,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2012.