Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said Pakistan continues to consolidate its macroeconomic gains.

Virtually addressing the 10th Annual Microfinance Conference held in Karachi, he mentioned that the country's foreign exchange reserves touched 21.4 billion dollars a few weeks back, which is the highest level in our history. He said the reserves are sufficient to cover three months of imports. 

The Finance Minister said Pakistan is now heading towards growth, with the economy registering 3.7 percent growth during the last financial year, while growth of four percent is projected for the current financial year.

Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed the government’s commitment to sustainable and responsible economic growth to avoid boom-and-bust cycles and further enhance the role of the private sector in economic activity.

He emphasized the need to expand access to financial resources for people and communities with limited access to financial services. He said around six billion rupees have been approved and over two billion rupees disbursed to small farmers under a collateral-free financing scheme during the past seven to eight months.

He stressed stronger cooperation between commercial banks and the microfinance sector to enhance financing for SMEs, agriculture and affordable housing.

Muhammad Aurangzeb said the export refinance limit has been increased from one trillion rupees to 1.5 trillion rupees, with twenty percent of the facility earmarked for SMEs.