On Saturday, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, the acting finance minister, predicted that the nation’s economic growth will increase by 2-2.5% during the current fiscal year.
In a virtual speech at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)-hosted “IPO Summit 2024,” Dr. Akhtar predicted that the industrial sector would expand by 2.5% and the agricultural sector by 5.6%.
In contrast to the targeted revenue of Rs9.4 trillion for the year, she expressed optimism about the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) likely collection of Rs10 trillion in FY24.
According to Shamshad, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have increased from $4 billion at the beginning of her ministry tenure to a high of $9.1 billion.
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According to the finance minister, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is aware that in order to boost economic activity, the benchmark policy rate needs to decrease from its present record high of 22%.
She continued, saying that the country’s inflation rate, which has surged to record highs, must slow down before the rate can be lowered.
The minister stated that the T-bill cut-off rates have dropped below the policy rate of the central bank, suggesting a potential interest rate reduction.
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She noted that PSX has been on the rise since the beginning of the current fiscal year. In 2023, the benchmark KSE 100 Index concluded at over 62,450 points, whereas the bourse yielded a 55% return at PSX.
The minister did, however, voice her displeasure with the PSX’s single initial public offering (IPO) in 2023, stating that it came after a 15-year wait.
She sent a request to the relevant authorities to raise the PSX inventor count, which has been stuck at 200,000 for a while.
