at the same time, prices of consumer goods have also increased as the year - on - year cpi inflation for february 2019 has reached 8. 2 percent, with jul - feb average inflation at 6. 5 percent. however, it is encouraging to page 3 of 9 note that the burden of this rising inflation was considerably lower for low income segment of the society as the food inflation remained considerably low. going forward, average cpi inflation for fy19 is likely to fall in the range of 6. 5 to 7. 5 percent. having said this, let me say that these are short - term challenges, and i hope that our economy ’ s inherent resilience will meet these challenges successfully. even during this stabilization period, we are trying to protect our exportoriented businesses. importantly, the mark up rates on the export finance scheme ( efs ) and long - term financing facility ( ltff ) have been left unchanged to keep incentivizing the export - oriented sectors of the economy. currently, the eff and ltff rates are at ten years ’ low. to further incentivize the financing under efs, the rates are linked with performance, wherein lower rates are charged from exporters who achieve higher level of export performance. similarly, the market - driven pkr depreciation has allowed the domestic goods and services to compete more favorably in the international markets. while there are challenges in the pakistan ’ s economy, there are opportunities also. the correction in the exchange rate shall make production in many sectors more competitive and encourage new ventures in import substitution. let me assure you that state bank will continue to provide, through its regulatory and policy initiatives, a conducive financial system that is able to contribute in the growth of pakistani businesses through the provision of adequate banking facilities. furthermore, our banking industry shall also play an effective role when it comes to financial intermediation. in particular, beyond the encouraging growth in private sector credit numbers, banks are now being asked to extend their services to the underserved, unbanked and disadvantaged segments as well. i appreciate that the government has offered a lower tax rate of 20 percent to the banks on their income derived from incremental financing to the sme, agriculture, and low cost housing borrowers ( via the finance supplementary [ second amendment ] act, 2019 ). as i have emphasized before page 4 of 9 at other forums, the state bank ’ s key focus is on three priority sectors, namely smes

of the industry, there still prevails demand supply gap. state bank of pakistan is using multi - pronged strategy to ensure adequate supply of shariah scholars in the country ; not only nibaf is conducting targeted customised programs for shariah scholars but centres of excellence in islamic finance education have also been specifically mandated to develop customised programs for shariah scholars. from the platform of state bank of pakistan, efforts are also being made to encourage madaris to play their role in growth of islamic finance industry. the third challenge, especially in the context of pakistan, is that islamic banking is to find shariah compliant instruments for investment. as islamic banks have excess liquidity, we are already witnessing this. unless we are able to develop asset - based sukuk, growth may become stunted in future. the state bank in its vision 2020 has set target of 20 % of deposit with the islamic banking by 2020 and this is very much a focus of our efforts as a regulator. we will be interacting with all the stakeholders to ensure that the challenges highlighted above to sustained and high growth in islamic banking and finance to overcome. electronic and social media platforms have become most effective mean of opinion formation and information dissemination. one of the major benefits of advancement in information technology and communication is empowerment of masses through access to information. state bank of pakistan is supporting the industry's mass media campaign which is aiming at creating awareness among public at large in addition to conducting seminars, conferences, targeted programmes and focused discussions for business community, academia, bankers and policy makers. we feel that such initiatives taken by dunya media group & its peers would contribute in creating the much needed awareness regarding islamic finance and improving perception of public at large. ladies & gentlemen ; at the end, i would encourage and persuade all stakeholders to collaborate more effectively to address challenges faced by the industry. i assure you full support and cooperation from the central bank side to develop a vibrant industry on sound foundations i wish again the success to all future endeavours of the dunya media group. page 4 of 4