Dollar Rate Can Be Brought Down to Rs250: minister

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz on Friday suggested that the US dollar price of Rs300 could potentially decrease to Rs250 by reviving the export industry, which according to him will mitigate inflation, ARY News reported.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad following a meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, the commerce minister cited ‘supply chain shortages’ as a significant driver of inflation in the country.

Gohar Ejaz stressed the need to boost exports and generate employment opportunities, saying that SIFC was informed about essential nature of prioritising the revival of industries.

He underlined that detailed talks covering raw material supply chains, energy pricing, and gas availability were also held during the SIFC’s meeting.

The minister also said that inflation could only be effectively managed by augmenting exports, suggesting that by reviving the export industry, the dollar price of Rs300 could potentially decrease to Rs250, which will also mitigate inflation.

However, he insisted on the importance of market-based approaches, cautioning against excessive spending without corresponding earnings.

‘Holistic approach adopted to revive economy’

Taking over the presser, caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar said that the interim government has adopted holistic approach to address the economic and develop a roadmap with an aim to augment the macroeconomic management in the country,

“We will operate really holistically and consistently as a team. This would be an important change that Incharges of all segments would work together,” she said.

The minister said that subcommittees of cabinet have already been institutionalised, adding they were having full-form intergovernmental discussions with each other and have been making sincere effort to define roadmap for augmenting the macroeconomic management in the country.

She said that government was reinforcing fiscal stability and fiscal coordination with monetary policy as well as external policy, which she said was anchor of macroeconomic management.

Shamshad Akhtar said the interim setup wanted to review economy and for that they were working to “define the steps to jumpstart the economy,” adding that they were making efforts to enhance social safety net during the period when structural adjustment reforms programme was implemented.

“We would try to enhance social safety net and more importantly financial inclusion would be expedited so that SME, agriculture sectors and citizens get opportunity for financial empowerment through digitization”, she added.

The minister said that State Owned Enterprizes (SOEs) were facing issues and had burdened the exchequer, so the government would prepare SOE policy to overcome the issues.

The minister said a Central Monetary Unit would be established with two principle pillars including (1) to help various ministries to strengthen the corporate governance of SoEs, and (2) to prepare the entities that are ready to take forward for listing them for privatization.

The finance minister said that the government wanted to diversify the SOEs debt burden through capital market as currently, it was solely burden on banking sector and even government also raised debt from the baking sector.

She said this strategy would also help enhance depth and breadth of capital market, adding that the interim setup wanted the government securities to be floated at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) so their maturity is stretched and the common man can invest in government securities.