Pak Suzuki puts the brakes on production again amid dollar crunch

KARACHI – Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) on Wednesday announced halting its automobile products for five days as the automaker is facing shortage of inventory due to non-issues of letters of credit (LCs) by banks amid dearth of dollars.

Several import-based business are struggling to continue the operation as foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank dropped to an alarming level of around $3 billion.

The one of largest auto manufacturer in the country has informed about its decision to the Pakistan Stock Exchange in a letter, stating that "due to continued shortage of inventory level, the management of the company has decided to shut-down automobile plant from February 13, 2023 to February 17, 2023".

However, the Pak Suzuki’s motorcycle plant would not be shut down.

It is the fourth time that the company is shutting down its car plant since the start of the year 2023.