Political struggle hitting business sentiments: Iftikhar Ali Malik

Islamabad: Vice President of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik on Sunday asked the government and the business community to take full advantage of the retreating oil prices. All the things are moving in the right direction except for the country’s political temperature which continue to rise, he said while speaking to the business community.

Iftikhar Ali Malik who is also Chairman of the United Business Group of the FPCCI said that lower oil prices make it cheaper for companies to purchase raw materials, operate factories properly, and transport products improving their business performance. Government has reduced oil prices drastically which has reduced inflation, improved households budgets enables people to spend their surplus money on other things. The decision of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not only supported masses but also triggered economic recovery, the veteran business leader said.

Malik said that the State Bank should relax monetary policy so that the private sector could get cheap loans which is imperative for economic activity, job creation, and exports.

Speaking on the occasion, the UBG candidate for the presidency of FPCCI Mian Idrees said that some economic indicators have improved the private sector is still generally shy of investing.

Reserves and rupee are steady, remittances and consumer confidence are high, inflation and the policy rate are in single digits which can hit GDP growth as high as five percent, he added. However, Mian Idrees said that the impact of ongoing political struggle is not very positive on the business sentiments.