Petroleum Price Hike Would Devastate Businesses: ICCI President

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) President Muhammad Shakeel Munir Thursday said that the historic hike in the prices of petroleum products could prove destructive for the country as it would unleash a new wave of inflation and significantly increase the cost of doing business. Addressing a meeting of the business community, he said that the third hike in petroleum prices within a period of just three weeks would badly squeeze the purchasing power of the common man leading to a sharp decline in the business activities. Munir said that the government has already increased the electricity and gas tariffs which would push up production costs and inflation for the average person. He urged that the government should immediately reconsider such harsh decisions, as their consequences would devastate the businesses and the general public. The ICCI President said that the environment for doing business in Pakistan was becoming more difficult as the central bank has already increased the policy rate to 13.75 percent, making credit costs unaffordable for the business community. He cautioned that such harsh measures would make our industry more uncompetitive in the international market and reduce our exports. He stressed that the government should make drastic cuts in all non-development expenditures and reduce the profit margins of OMCs instead of putting an unbearable burden on the businesses and the general public. He said that in these difficult times, the government should focus on promoting ease of doing business to improve exports and steer the economy out of current challenges.