Coordinator to the Federal Tax Ombudsman Meher Kashif Younis has praised the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) decision to remove restrictions on the issuance of letters of credit, stating that doing so will significantly improve economic growth and speed up economic activity nationwide.

According to him, the commercial banks' refusal to provide letters of credit caused the economy to slow down, which had a negative impact on industrial production. These relaxations will help the industrial and agricultural sectors, he noted. He stated that the business sector appreciates the prime minister and the ministers of finance and trade for using their positions of power to address their long-overdue actual demands for the reinstatement of the letter of credit facility.

He noted that the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the flood damage, which have already had a negative direct and indirect impact on the local economy, required the government's prompt response in order to comfort the hard-hit industrialists and traders. The business community, according to him, may now import energy inputs, industrial raw materials for enterprises focused on exports, seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, wheat, edible oil, pharmaceutical raw materials for life-saving medications, and surgical tools.

Meher Kashif urged the importers to contact the concerned commercial banks right away to continue processing their paperwork in accordance with the SBP guidelines. He said that the recently established Kyrgyzstan Trade House will make it easier for eager importers to promote bilateral trade between the two Muslim countries.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk