Central Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Mohsin Aziz has welcomed the reduction in bank markup rate by 150 basis points to 12 per cent and expressed the hope that this move of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will lower the cost of credit for the private sector in Pakistan. He appreciated the policy decision and further added that credit availability at globally competitive mark up is the way forward for textile industry.
The high interest rate offered by banks had discouraged the private sector earlier but the present reduction may enable the industry to avail the opportunity for short and long term investments in the country, he hoped. However, he pointed out that the bank mark up is still high in Pakistan as compared to other competitors. It should be brought down to single digit at the earliest. He explained that the previous high inflation and high interest rate had negatively impacted the competitiveness of the industry. Chairman APTMA urged the government to ensure immediate allocation of funds under the Technology Up-gradation Funds Scheme (TUFS), so that these funds can be disbursed to textile industry to start its pending investment decisions.
