ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Finance Minister (FM) Shamshad Akhtar has said that Pakistan’s economy would likely grow by 2-2.5 percent in the current fiscal year 2023-24. The finance minister said that via a virtual address to the IPO Summit 2024, being organized by Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), in Karachi on Saturday
Akhtar said despite challenges and the ongoing economic quagmire, the country has made optimistic progress towards macro-economic, exchange rate, and financial stability.
She further said that such concrete steps would likely rebound economic indicators in a positive momentum from 2 to 2.5 percent, along with a growth of 5.6 percent in agriculture and 2.5 percent in the industrial sector during the current fiscal year.
Shamshad Akhtar expressed that the capital markets cannot flourish under a very high-interest rate regime. “The SBP [State Bank of Pakistan] is cognizant of the fact that we would have to move to lower the interest rate according to the pace of inflation,” she said, adding that the foundation has been laid for attracting foreign direct investment.
Finance Minister Appreciates PSX Performance
The finance minister also lauded the recent bullish sentiments at PSX since the start of the current fiscal year, where the market achieved a return of about 55% in the last 6 to 7 months, and the benchmark 100 Index surpassed 65000 points in December 2023.
She also underscored the recent surge in foreign reserves, reaching nearly $9.1b due to the inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donors.
Earlier on Jan 17, the country received a $700 million loan tranche from the IMF as part of the nine-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). On the same day, UAE also confirmed a roll-over of $2b for one more year, which was already matured in January 2024.
