Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s scheme for preventing layoffs amid the coronavirus situation in the country, a news source reported.
The approval for the Risk Sharing Facility for SBP Refinance Scheme came during a meeting chaired by Advisor to the Prime Minister (PM) on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. Officials informed the meeting that the scheme supports the provision of credit at a concessional rate to businesses to save employees from layoffs. Via this credit, businesses will commit to not laying off workers until September, they added. Additionally, the scheme would cover 60% of the losses incurred by the SMEs sector, officials said.
Earlier, borrowers having turnover up to PKR 800 million could avail the SBP scheme. Now, the eligibility for the scheme has been increased up to PKR 2 billion. On the other hand, the ECC meeting approved PKR 100 million for locust control in Punjab.
