KARACHI, April 7: A meeting of the senior bankers and businessmen held on Tuesday at the State Bank of Pakistan discussed in depth the new long-term financing for export-oriented projects.

The scheme stipulates a debt equity ratio of 80:20 for financing in Pakistani rupee. The financing will be offered for import of machinery for the export-oriented projects. But spinning and weaving projects do not come under the scheme. Repayment period has been kept at seven-and-a-half years.

There is no maximum amount for financing and it will be offered at five-year Pakistan Investment Bond rates with a maximum spread of two per cent. Shaukat Tareen, a leading banker, expressed his reservations on the viability of the scheme as according to him, a tow per cent margin was too small cushion for the banks to finance a high risk project.

Dr Ikhtiar Baig, who represented the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, compared the new scheme with State Bank's export refinance. He contended that banks would get foreign exchange income in financing the projects.

He stressed the need to remove all bureaucratic hurdles in implementation of the scheme, and urged that the Export Promotion Bureau, otherwise a purely service organization, should also be kept away from the operation of the scheme.

Dr Baig pleaded for liberal financing of the small and medium enterprises. Senior officers of the State Bank, the Export Promotion Bureau and representatives from trade and industry attended the meeting.