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Hafeez Shaikh says direct foreign investment has increased by 286 percent

Hafeez Shaikh says direct foreign investment has increased by 286 percent
December 4, 2019
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Hafeez Shaikh has said that the direct foreign investment has increased by 286 percent. Addressing the two-day Microfinance Conference on Wednesday, he said that Bloomberg had declared Pakistan Stock Market the best stock market of the world in dollar terms. “Moody’s has upgraded the credit rating from negative to stable,” he said. The adviser said that the world had been given the message of economic stability from Pakistan. “Loans to the private sector were affected due to financial deficits in the past. The deserving section of the society can be steered out of poverty,” he said. Hafeez Shaikh said that the private sector will have to lend a helping hand to the government to achieve the economic targets. “In its first quartet, the IMF said that Pakistan has achieved its objective. The portfolio investment has reached to US$1 billion,” he said. He said that the government is giving a subsidy to the industry in electricity, gas and loans, which has sped up the industrial activities. “We will have to reduce the business cost and increase the access to microfinance,” he said. Earlier addressing a press conference along with Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi on Tuesday, the adviser said that the economic indicators have shown significant improvement in last five months.
Current account deficit reduced by 35%
Hafeez Shaikh said current account deficit reduced by 35 per cent last year and has seen more improvement in the last five months. He said the fiscal deficit in the same period went to surplus, if interest rate is ignored. He said portfolio investment and Foreign Direct Investment are also seeing upward trajectory.
WB, ADB, IMF hails economic performance
The adviser said the World Bank’s (WB) president during his visit to Pakistan appreciated the economic performance. He also indicated to further improve relations of the bank with Pakistan. He also mentioned Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is one of the biggest development partners of Pakistan, has increased its financing to Islamabad by 3 billion dollars after seeing the progress. Hafeez Shaikh said IMF team during its visit reviewed the economic performance and expressed satisfaction on not only meeting the targets but also surpassing these.
$500mln tranche to Pakistan on immediate basis
The finance adviser said that IMF recommended their board to release the 500 million dollar tranche to Pakistan on immediate basis. He said world renowned rating agency Moody's has upgraded Pakistan's credit rating from negative to stable. Hafeez Shaikh said the portfolio investment has seen investment of around one billion dollars. He said the trust of the domestic investors has also increased on economic policies of the government. He said the reserves of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are also seeing increase. He said revenue collection increased by 16 per cent in last five months. He expressed optimism that non-revenue target of 1200 billion rupees will be achieved.