Pakistan’s central bank has cut the benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 8% to help people, businesses and the economy fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The higher interest rates mean higher borrowing costs, people will eventually start spending less. The demand for goods and services will then drop, which will cause inflation to fall.
These changes can affect both inflation and recessions. Inflation refers to the rise in the price of goods and services over time. It is the result of a strong and healthy economy. However, if inflation is left unchecked, it can lead to a significant loss of purchasing power.
The lower the interest rate, the more willing people are to borrow money to make big purchases, such as houses or cars. When consumers pay less in interest, this gives them more money to spend, which can create a ripple effect of increased spending throughout the economy.
Businesses and farmers also benefit from lower interest rates, as it encourages them to make large equipment purchases due to the low cost of borrowing. This creates a situation where output and productivity increase.

The interest rate is a tool available with SBP to create a balance between the rate of inflation
and economic activities in the country.
The coronavirus pandemic has created unique challenges for monetary policy due to its non-economic origin and the temporary disruption of economic activity required to combat it.
In particular, the successive policy rate cuts and sizeable cheap loans provided through the SBP’s enhirced refinancing facilities have helped maintain credit flows, bolster the cash flow of borrowers, and support asset prices.
Thisl easier monetary policy can provide liquidity support to households and businesses to help them through the ensuing temporary phase of economic disruption.

@zareen said in MGT604 Assignment 1 Solution and Discussion:

importing the goods by using letter of credit

Import Letters of Credit Process

The importer arranges for the issuing bank to open a Letter of Credit in favor of the exporter. The issuing bank transmits the Letter of Credit to the nominated bank, which forwards it to the exporter. The exporter forwards the goods and documents to a freight forwarder.

Import Letters of Credit Key Features

An Import Letter of Credit, which is also referred to as a documentary credit, is a financial instrument where the issuing bank, acting on behalf of the importer, contractually agrees to pay the beneficiary or exporter the amount stipulated, provided conditions specified in the Letter of Credit have been satisfied. The bank that issues an Import Letter of Credit will typically use intermediary banks to facilitate the transaction and make payment to the exporter. The Letter of Credit is a separate contract from the contract for the transaction on which it is based. Thus the banks who are involved in financing the transaction are not concerned with the quality of the underlying merchandise or even whether either party fulfills the terms of the sales contract. The issuing bank’s obligation to pay pursuant to Import Letters of Credit are solely conditioned upon the seller’s compliance with the terms and conditions specified in the Import Letter of Credit. In transactions involving Import Letters of Credit, banks are only concerned with documents, not goods.

Letters of Credit are effective payment instruments that facilitate international trade by providing sellers with an assurance of payment and buyers with cross-border documentary protection.da5362a6-f82c-4acd-8148-a90df8c1b795-image.png

Using Import Letters of Credit

Letters of credit are a highly recommended method of funding international trade, and are especially beneficial for high-risk situations, for transactions with new or less-established trade relationships and for transactions where the exporter is satisfied with the creditworthiness of the issuing bank. When Letters of Credit are used to finance trade, the transaction risk is fairly balanced between exporter and importer, assuming that all terms and conditions specified in the Letter of Credit are performed. Payment in Letter of Credit transactions is only made after the goods are shipped by the exporter. A variety of payment, financing and risk mitigation options are available to both the importer and exporter with Letters of Credit. Letters of Credit are a tremendously popular and effective method of financing international trade. They are, however, labor intensive and are a relatively expensive method of financing international transactions.

Import Letters of Credit Process

The importer arranges for the issuing bank to open a Letter of Credit in favor of the exporter. The issuing bank transmits the Letter of Credit to the nominated bank, which forwards it to the exporter. The exporter forwards the goods and documents to a freight forwarder. The freight forwarder dispatches the goods and either the dispatcher or the exporter submits documents to the nominated bank. The nominated bank checks documents for compliance with the Letter of Credit and collects payment from the issuing bank for the exporter. The importer’s account at the issuing bank is debited. The issuing bank releases documents to the importer to claim the goods from the carrier and to clear them at customs.

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