Pakistan’s top business body has criticized the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for keeping the policy rate unchanged at 11.5 percent, saying the decision will hurt businesses, investment, and industrial growth.
In a statement issued after the SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Acting President Saquib Fayyaz Magoon described the decision as “contractionary” and said the business community had expected a rate cut.
He said high borrowing costs, combined with elevated energy tariffs, have placed manufacturers and exporters under severe pressure, making it difficult for Pakistani businesses to compete in international markets.
Magoon argued that a single-digit policy rate is now essential to lower production costs, improve access to finance, make goods and services more affordable, and revive economic activity.
FPCCI Vice President and Regional Chairman Sindh Abdul Mohamin Khan said that with core inflation stabilizing, maintaining a high policy rate imposes an unnecessary burden on businesses. He warned that expensive financing continues to discourage investment, contribute to industrial closures, and weaken exporters’ competitiveness.
The FPCCI urged the central bank to outline a clear roadmap for reducing interest rates and align monetary policy with business conditions. It warned that without a transition to a single-digit policy rate, Pakistan’s export and industrial growth targets for the current fiscal year could remain out of reach.
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