RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan and President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum Mian Zahid Hussain has said that more import items should be banned to save foreign exchange and reduce the deficit as a country like Pakistan cannot afford to spend 65.5 billion dollars on imports in ten months.

He said that the government should continue to squeeze imports and reject any pressure in this regard in the national interest.

Investors’ confidence has been improving but some investors are awaiting the final outcome of negotiations with the IMF as the country needs at least 36 billion dollars in the upcoming fiscal.

He warned that the rupee will start losing its value again if reforms were delayed and it will hit the mark of Rs220 per dollar by the end of the upcoming financial year. He said markets are responding positively to the government’s decision to increase the price of oil.

The rupee is strengthening against the US dollar, the dollar is retreating, the stock market is stabilising while the confidence of investors is getting better, he said.