Foreign exchange reserves to cross $15bn in July, NA told

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told the National Assembly on Thursday that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves will cross $15 billion in July, while GDP growth rate is expected to touch 4 per cent during the current fiscal year. Commenting about the latest economic indicators, Dar said that the GDP growth rate currently stands at 3.4 per cent while reserves are at $13 bn. The finance minister said that inflation rate is at 8.6 per cent, which has been brought down to single-digit during the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) government. “The international community and financial institutions are also recognising that the country’s growth is witnessing an upward trend while inflation is on the decline as yet,” he said. He said that tax collection had also recorded a growth of 15.6 per cent during the current year. “The returns of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have witnessed a growth of 15.6 percent during the first ten months of the current financial year while the FBR has collected Rs1,745 billion as compared to Rs1,509 billion rupees collected during the same period last year,” he added. The minister said that exports have risen to $19 billion – showing a growth of 6 per cent – while imports remained at $33 billion during the last nine months. Dar claimed that remittances also witnessed a growth of 11.4 per cent, with $1,289 billion received so far under the head of remittances as against $1,157 billion received during the same period last year. The finance minister claimed that the government had achieved its target which it had set for the auction of 3G and 4G spectrum licenses, and that the biding had been carried out in a transparent manner. He said that the new technology is expected to generate up to 900,000 new job opportunities in the next four years. Dar said that fiscal reforms and the increase in foreign exchange reserves have appreciated the value of the Pakistani Rupee against the US Dollar, and that the current level will be maintained during the next year. He also said that around 3,655 new companies were registered with the SECP during the last 10 months. During question hour, Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali informed the House that Rs 25 billion have been released for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam to produce cheap electricity. He said the first phase of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power Project will be completed by the end of the next year, which will add 253 MW of electricity to the national grid. The National Assembly also passed a unanimous resolution expressing grief and sorrow over the deaths of coalmine workers in Turkey. The resolution moved by Syed Naveed Qamar expressed deepest sympathies with the bereaved families. The House also unanimously passed another resolution moved by Ramesh Kumar condemning attacks on worship-places of minorities in Sindh province, and demanded that the government take serious steps to safeguard worship-places of minority communities.