Policy rate reduction to encourage economic activity: PM Shehbaz

While presiding over a meeting of the Parliamentary Party of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Prime Minister Shehbaz stated that the country’s economy is stabilising and that inflation has decreased from 38 to 8 percent.

According to him, Pakistan’s economy is stable, as evidenced by the national and international organisations’ remarks.

The prime minister claimed that failure was caused by the evil plans of people who wish to sow discord and push the nation to the verge of bankruptcy. “Those in golden words who gave up their political careers for the country’s survival will always be remembered by history,” he continued.

A new chapter in the Pakistan-Saudi investment collaboration has been added, PM Shehbaz remarked in remarks about his recent trip to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi leadership, particularly Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was consulted in-depth on the Future Investment Initiative, he stated.

Saudi Arabia is one of Pakistan’s longstanding allies and partners. The Saudi leadership promised all forms of assistance for Pakistan’s economic growth and stability,” he continued.

During the visit to Qatar, the prime minister also told the parliamentary party of the PML-N that their leadership had promised to boost investment in Pakistan. He claimed that discussions were undertaken to give the three billion dollar projects that Qatar has invested in Pakistan a more tangible form.

View More: SBP reduces policy rate by 15 percent, or 250 basis points

Qatar, he claimed, will invest in Pakistan’s energy, hotel, aviation, and information technology industries.

The government is adopting urgent measures to encourage foreign investment in Pakistan, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Every segment of the nation is implementing the reform plan, he said. “FBR has been instructed to honour such individuals who pay taxes as ambassadors of Pakistan,” he said.

The planned law bill in the National Assembly was also discussed and the PML-N Parliamentary Party was brought into confidence during the meeting.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declared earlier on Monday that it would lower its policy rate by 250 basis points (bps) to 15 percent from 17.5% in response to calls for a significant rate cut.

The central bank made the decision during a meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which was presided over by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad.

During today’s meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreed to lower the policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 percent, with effect from November 5, 2024. In October, the Committee saw inflation drop more quickly than anticipated and approach its medium-term goal range, according to a statement released here.