Last Updated on: 8th July 2023, 05:43 am
Exchange Offices Offer Dollars For Opening LC
Stock exchange houses have proposed that the federal government pay for opening letters of credit (LC) as several industries suffer from banks’ refusal to do so due to dollar shortages.
In a statement, Association of Stockbrokers Secretary-General Zafar Paracha said many industries are facing serious problems as banks have refused to open LC.
Parsha said bureaux de change is willing to help the government by providing dollars to open LC. He explained that public companies can pay up to $50,000 per LC.
He said the proposal was also presented to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar at a recent meeting and he is now awaiting a response from the government.
Parsha said exchange houses could fund up to $250 million worth of imports next month. However, he noted that they would offer the financing at the open market rate, which is much higher than the interbank rate.
The proposal comes as the government is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which are believed to have fallen to less than $5 billion.
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