Islamabad: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has requested the government to bring the interest rate down to 5% in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a news source reported. As per the publication, the chamber has urged the executive to facilitate the country’s traders and business persons amid the economic shortfall anticipated from the virus spread.
ICCI President Muhammad Ahmed Waheed said that the government had ordered the closure of business centres and shopping malls in metropolitan cities in order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. He added that imported goods and raw material of numerous industrial units were stuck at the Karachi seaport as transport facilities were unavailable due to the going lockdown.
Waheed said that the owners of industries had paid for the imported material and they could not pay mark up to the banks due to the stoppage in monetary circulation. He suggested that the interest rate should be reduced and the government should permit the businesspersons and traders ‘to pay reduced mark up in instalments’ so that they manage through the negative impact of coronavirus pandemic.
