ISLAMABAD – Finance Minister Asad Umar has vowed to bring down by 33% thecurrent account deficit of Pakistan.
He has vowed to bring deficit to $12 billion in current fiscal year 2019compared with a record high of $18 billion in FY18.
“We have taken monetary measures, have started taking fiscal measures.After doing all this, I think the financing gap (current account deficit)this year will be $12 billion,” he said.
“The (average) current account deficit dropped by half to $1 billion amonth in August and September 2018 compared with $2 billion a monthpreviously.”
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The visit to the PSX came after weeks of volatile trading at the bourse.Stocks had taken a beating as the index plummeted to a 28-month low thisweek. “If the economy will grow, the market will grow,” he said.
Umar said the financing gap would further drop in FY20. “We are trying toovercome this $12-billion gap through a structural package, which willinclude one-time inflows (from the IMF)…we will 100% cover the $12-billiongap,” he reiterated.
