‘Mark-up rate cut to stimulate private sector’

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry here Saturday said that State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to cut interest rate would help stimulate private sector growth and a flagging economy. LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said the SBP Governor deserves appreciation for accepting the private sector’s demand that has been opposing the SBP tight monetary policy stance for long. Irfan Sheikh said the step taken by the State Bank of Pakistan would help strengthen economic indicators and hoped that after two months when new monetary policy would be announced, interest rates would further be lowered to a single digit. The availability of cheaper liquidity to the business community was the need of the hour. The LCCI President urged the Governor State Bank of Pakistan to review all other economy related banking policies and facilitate the private sector that is the engine of the growth. He said that in the developed economies, the markup rate is in single digit and they are maintaining it at all costs in the larger interests of their respective economies. Therefore, he said, the SBP Governor should also bring it to a single digit in the next monetary policy.