Benefit of strengthened rupee should be transferred to masses, exporters should be insulated from the impact of a weak dollar, remittances played a major role in firming up the rupee: Mian Zahid Hussain

ISLAMABAD: Chairman of National Business Group of FPCCI, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday welcomed improvement in the value of rupee against the US dollar and demanded that its benefit should be transferred to the masses.

He said that strengthened rupee has added to the problems of exporters which should be tackled.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that increasing remittances have played a major role in firming up the local currency which has also reduced the current account deficit to satisfactory levels.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that government should try to keep the momentum in remittances in the remaining months of the current fiscal and the incoming year.

He said that dollar is now fourteen rupees cheaper, last year dollar was traded for Rs166.70 in the interbank which now it is being traded for Rs152.76.

The introduction of Roshan Digital Account by SBP is also a good move as it has opened new avenues for investment by expatriates and so far they have invested 806 million dollars which is an achievement by the governor of central bank Dr Raza Baqir.

The business leader noted that dollar will slide to Rs150 if the momentum of remittances and investment in the Roshan account continued as Pakistan received remittances worth $18.743 billion from July 2020 to February 2021 which were 24.1 percent more than the corresponding period.

He said that 500 million dollars loan from IMF and $2.5 billion Euro bond auction will not only increase debt burden and create an issue of balance of payments but also strengthen the rupee.

Some experts are of the opinion that remittances may not support the rupee for long therefore the government should tackle issue of reduced exports of goods and services and increasing imports, he said.