ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Governor Tariq Bajwa on Tuesday informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that foreign exchange reserves situation was stable.
In an in-camera briefing held at Parliament house with the session presided over by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, Governor SBP apprised the committee about the country’s forex reserves and its impact on economy, reported a local newspaper.
Mandviwalla after the conclusion of the meeting told media personnel the government had informed the parliamentary panel that it won’t be going to IMF for another bailout. He said the government has obtained loans of $4 billion from World Bank and $2 billion from Asian Development Bank (ADB) during first half of current FY 2017-18.
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance adjourned a discussion to revise the ‘Protection of Economic Reform Act, 1992’ (Protection of Economic Reforms Bill 2016) introduced by Saleem Mandviwalla in October 2016.
Bajwa told the parliamentary panel that central bank was working with Ministry of Finance on the bill and details would be provided once the it gets finalized. Discussion on the bill was adjourned to February next month.
He also updated the committee on advancement made in installation of counterfeit notes detection equipment. An official of SBP informed the committee, commercial banks had started giving out authenticated Rs500 bank notes and above denomination in over 30 cities across Pakistan since April 2017.
The official added ratio of 12 counterfeits out of 1 million rupees remained low and banks have been instructed to carry out all cash dealings under CCTV. He shared the central bank intends to roll-out Rs100 and above denomination authenticated notes from July 2018 and Rs50 will follow from January next year.
Mandviwalla pointed out to SBP Governor about differences in regimes on withdrawal of money from foreign currency accounts and local currency accounts. He said there were no taxes on withdrawals from foreign currency accounts whereas local currency account holders were being made to pay tax on withdrawals, which was unjustified.
Mr. Bajwa on the occasion said the central bank was already deliberating on this issue. Also, the SBP governor provided sector-wise details of foreign exchange remittances to the parliamentary panel alongside month-wise details of foreign airlines remittances from ticket sales in Pakistan for past two years.
