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KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr. Reza Baqir while expressing optimism about the country’s economic growth prospects said that the economic growth rate in the financial year 22-2021 will be close to 5 percent.
“The economy has grown by about 4 percent this fiscal year and we expect it to grow to around 5 percent this fiscal year,” he said. “This is a welcome challenge for us,” he added. The SBP governor said that the SBP was working with the government, banks, and other stakeholders to ensure a sustainable development phase.
The SBP, in partnership with the government, is taking steps to support economic growth without compromising the sustainability of the external sector, he said. The government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will soon announce an agreement to restart the 6 billion loan program.
Read more: Finance Ministry says negotiations with IMF still ongoing
He said that the country’s economy has performed much better than the IMF forecast last year. The SBP chief said the country’s GDP growth, current account deficit, foreign exchange reserves, and external debt were in a much better position than the IMF estimates.
“When the IMF launched the program with Pakistan in June 2019, our growth rate was projected to be 3% in FY2021,” he said. However, in the fiscal year ending June 2021, Pakistan’s economy grew by about 4 percent.
