KARACHI: SITE Associa­tion of Industry (SAI) has urged the State Bank of Pakistan to bring down the interest rate to at least nine per cent to spur industrial growth.

SAI Chairman Younus M. Bashir said in a statement that high interest rates are crippling the industrial growth and needed to be reduced.

Despite higher inflation, all the major economies have either curtailed or are reducing high interest rates to protect their economies, he said.

He urged the central bank to reduce the interest rate in the upcoming monetary policy which is scheduled to be announced on July 19. The current interest rate is 10 per cent.

The mark-up rates are very high here compared to other countries, he said, adding that they should be brought down to keep the industry’s wheel rolling, otherwise many people would lose their jobs. The SAI is a representative body of industries located in city’s Sindh Industrial and Trading Estates.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2014