The government, claiming that its policies towards macroeconomic stability are effective based on some figures, approved supplementary grants worth about Rs44 billion, including grants earmarked for advertising government achievements.
The opening part of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting of the cabinet on Wednesday, which was unusually telecast live on television channels, featured Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s speech, which highlighted the current account surplus, the reduction in inflation due to high base effect, the increase in sales of cement, fertilizers, vehicles and petroleum products and the improvement in business confidence.
The Federal Finance Minister said that due to a 35 percent increase in remittances, 33 percent in technology exports and 31 percent in the Roshan Digital Account, the highest current account surplus of $944 million in 10 years was achieved in the first 5 months without taking anything from traditional exports.
He said that after a 900 basis points cut in interest rates to 13 percent, business confidence is improving and strong corporations are now getting financing below the KIBOR rate, which is reducing the cost of servicing their loans.
He said that the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan have become capable of covering 2.6 months of imports, which were sufficient for only 14 days of imports about 16 months ago, while it is likely that by the end of the fiscal year 2025, the foreign exchange reserves will be able to meet the needs of more than 12 weeks.
The Finance Minister said that these indicators are important for rating agencies to achieve a single B rating for Pakistan. On the other hand, he said that according to the Consumer Price Index, the inflation rate in November was at a 6-and-a-half-year low of 4.9 percent.
The Finance Minister said that some people believe that the common man is not benefiting from the reduction in inflation. However, he clarified that the prices of poultry, dal mash and dal chana were increasing a month ago while the global prices of these commodities, transportation and petroleum were decreasing, which means that arbitrariness is continuing and middlemen are taking unfair profits. The prices of these goods have decreased in a few weeks.
He said that private surveys show that business confidence is returning and its effects are being reflected in the real economy, as there has been a 5 percent increase in cement volume, a 6 percent increase in fertilizer purchases and a 58 percent increase in vehicle sales.
