Lot of scope to reduce repo rate, competitive economies significantly better in costs of credit : PHD Chamber

While welcoming the third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2016-17 by RBI, Dr. Mahesh Gupta, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that there is a lot of scope to reduce the repo rate as good monsoon is visible and inflationary expectations are also benign.

At this juncture, economy should be supported by lower interest rates to enhance the demand for durables and to boost up the manufacturing sector, said Dr. Gupta.

Cost of credit to businesses is high as compared with many competitive economies, impacting not only in the domestic market but also in the international markets, he said.

India's repo rate at 6.5% is significantly higher as compared with the world's 5 largest manufacturing countries including China (4.35%), United States of America (0.5%), Japan (-.1%), Germany (0) and Republic of Korea (1.25%).

Other competitive economies such as Thailand (1.5%), Hong Kong (0.75%), Malaysia (3%), Singapore (0.37%), Taiwan (1.38%) are significantly better than India in the costs of credit.

Going ahead, we expect a significant cut in repo rate to facilitate the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector and to compete in the international market, said Dr. Mahesh Gupta.

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