Business leaders hope IMF deal to restore investor confidence

Welcoming the signing of the $3 billion nine-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF, the business community hopes the deal would end uncertainty and restore the confidence of local and foreign investors direly needed to revive the economy. Talking to Dawn, Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwalla said this Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) would bring economic stability besides restoring foreign investors’ confidence, stability in the rupee-dollar parity and positive impact on the stock market. He, however, feared that the IMF bailout programme may increase the cost of production which really scares the entire business community and the government should give special attention to addressing this concern. “I hope that the US dollar will slide down to its original value, thus helping in controlling food inflation while the interest rate will also be brought down,” observed Mr Motiwalla.