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Karachi [Pakistan]Aug 6 (ANI): Finance Minister Mifta Ismail on Saturday warned that economic difficulties will continue until September due to rising inflation, high energy prices and a devaluation of Pakistan’s currency.
“We’re going to have a hard time until September. You’re going to have to pay your portion of the tax no matter what […] I apologize for the hardships everyone faces, but my main goal is to save the country from default,” Mifta said.
In a press conference following his meeting with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the finance minister said the coalition government had made difficult decisions – cutting subsidies and widening the tax base – and apologised to the government. According to GeoNews, businessmen paid the price.
The finance minister said the government had to make a tough decision to remove subsidies for oil products and electricity.
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The finance minister also confirmed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is investing in the country’s stock exchange to expand bilateral economic ties, Geo News reported.
Earlier, the UAE expressed its intention to invest $1 billion in companies in various economic and investment sectors in Pakistan.
The state-owned Emirates News Agency reported that the move is aimed at exploring new investment opportunities and areas of cooperation in cross-sector projects to expand bilateral economic ties and is in the best interests of both countries.
“…when I asked [Gulf] State officials gave us a loan and they told me we hadn’t paid off their previous loan. I feel ashamed. You still have to ask for a loan, which is not a good feeling,” he said.
According to Geo News, the finance minister has continued to ban the import of luxury goods, saying it will continue until next month as it is in the best interests of the Pakistani economy.
However, the government last week lifted a ban on non-essential and luxury goods imports imposed in early May. But import restrictions on fully assembled cars, mobile phones and appliances are not over.
In addition, as of July 29, foreign exchange reserves continued to dry up, falling to $8,385.4 million.
The move, however, helped Pakistan’s exports fall by almost a quarter from the previous month and 5.2% from the same period in the previous fiscal.
In addition, two of Pakistan’s auto assemblers, Toyota and Suzuki, have begun to observe the partial closure of their factories due to the lack of access to raw materials during the import ban, Geo News reported. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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