 April 29, 2016
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President AKIA, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday lauded the government for reducing current account deficit by 18 percent in the first nine months of the current fiscal.
Apart from the efforts of the government, the subdued prices of oil and commodities have also played their role, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that reduced oil prices have played havoc with the economies of oil exporting countries forcing Saudi Arabia to borrow five billion dollars.
The oil producer will never like to see another year as their losses in this fiscal have been projected to be around seven trillion dollars.
He said that oil producing nations are trying best to agree on reduced output to stabilise prices and any agreement would be damaging for oil importing countries including Pakistan.
He said that Pakistan should not bank on reduced prices of oil and try to improve remittances and exports as cutting developmental spending is not in the national interest.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that flow of remittances from Arab countries to India and Bangladesh has reduced therefore authorities should brace for reduction at home.
He said that efforts to reduce budget deficit can be supported unless it start hurting social sector which has very serious repercussions.
Government should pay all the refunds immediately and chalk out a strategy to boost remittances and exports, he demanded.
