There's no dearth of dollars for imports, says SBP governor
Business
The SBP chief expressed the hope that the current account will remain in surplus in December as well
KARACHI (Dunya News) – State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed on Thursday stated that the policy rate would be reduced gradually and inflation would further decrease this month.
Speaking at a ceremony here, he said that the inflation target for the fiscal year is estimated to remain between five and seven percent.
Governor Jameel claimed that the country has ample foreign exchange reserve. There is no issue with the availability of dollars for imports. “The current account is currently in surplus,” he added.
He expressed the hope that the current account will remain in surplus in December as well.
The SBP chief said that the country’s external debt level has been the same as it was in 2022.
“Overall, Pakistan’s foreign debt volume has improved significantly,” he said, and added that the actual foreign debt stood at $100.08 billion.
He said that foreign debt has also increased by $500 million due to revaluation of debt.
He added that the money borrowed this year was mostly through multilateral institutions and that short-term debt was being paid by long-term debt.
The governor said that the biggest challenge has been the balance of payments. However, the country has enough forex to meet external demands.
Governor Jameel said that the issue of balance of payments arises when growth exceeded by 4 percent and dearth to foreign exchange to meet that, then that growth turns unsustainable. The balance of payment issue also impacted industries, he continued.
The SBP chief said business confidence would improve and foreign direct investment would follow once the economy improved.
He said that there was no constraint in foreign investors’ profit repatriation. “This year, $1.1 billion have already been repatriated,” he said.
