National economy back on track: Finance Adviser

November 18, 2019: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh says the national economy is back on track as the difficult period has been managed.

Talking to business leaders in Karachi, he said we are on the road to recovery and next year will be better. He said the foreign exchange situation has been stabilized, the exchange rate is relatively stable and the IMF programme is being implemented to the satisfaction of the fund.

Abdul Hafeez Shaikh assured the businessmen that circular debt will also be addressed through two hundred billion rupees worth of bonds for which a green light has been obtained from the IMF.

He said the government has recently announced 200 billion rupees of package to facilitate exporters and thrust is now being shifted from cheaper imports to offering benefits to exporters.

He said the stock market has witnessed a significant improvement and there has been 16 percent overall growth in tax revenue and 21 percent growth in in-land revenue during the first four months of this fiscal year.

The Adviser said 1.9 million people were under tax net in 2018 and this figure has increased to 2.7 million in 2019.

He said the federal government has doubled the budget of social safety net programmes to provide relief and improve the quality of life of poor segments of the society.

Radio Pakistan