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Nov 22, 2024 اردو ► PRINT EDITION ► BR MARKETS ► Dollar to PKR ►

Dr Hafiz A Pasha

IMF first programme review
Opinion

IMF first programme review

The IMF has recently released a press note following the completion of the first Programme Review by the IMF Staff Mission in its visit to Pakistan. The good news is that the review was successfully completed and agreement was reached with the Authorities
Updated 12 Nov, 2019 08:39am
Growth in FBR Revenues
Opinion

Growth in FBR Revenues

The outcome in terms of the level and growth of revenues collected by FBR up to October has been made public recently. Apparently, during the first four months of the current fiscal year these revenues have shown a growth rate of 16 percent. This growth r
Published 05 Nov, 2019 12:00am
Big drop in industrial production
Opinion

Big drop in industrial production

The information on the Quantum Index of Manufacturing (QIM) for the month of August 2019 has just been released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. This has raised alarm bells. There has been a sizeable drop in production by the large-scale manufacturin
Updated 29 Oct, 2019 06:49am
The youth programme
Opinion

The youth programme

The government has recently launched the Rs 100 billion 'Kamyab Jawan Programme' for youth. The primary focus is on providing opportunities for acquisition of skills and for access to subsidized credit for small projects to generate employment and incomes
Published 22 Oct, 2019 12:00am
Prevalence of 'decent work'
Opinion

Prevalence of 'decent work'

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has described 'decent work' as employment which, first, provides for adequate earnings, second, is completed in decent work time, third, ensures stability and security of work, fourth, provides for equal opportu
Updated 15 Oct, 2019 05:46am
Rising food prices
Opinion

Rising food prices

Food prices have been rising rapidly in the last few months. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the inflation rate in food prices was only 1.4 percent in the September 2018. A year later in September 2019 the rate of increase in food prices has
Published 08 Oct, 2019 12:00am
Rising food prices
Print

Rising food prices

Food prices have been rising rapidly in the last few months. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the inflation rate in food prices was only 1.4 percent in the September 2018. A year later in September 2019 the rate of increase in food prices has
Updated 01 Nov, 2019 05:10am
Economic outlook for 2019-20
Markets

Economic outlook for 2019-20

The Asian Development Bank has in its recent publication 'Development Outlook' presented a somewhat sombre picture of the prospects for the economy of Pakistan in 2019-20. The GDP growth rate is projected at 2.8 percent while the inflation rate is expecte
Updated 01 Oct, 2019 07:36am
Recent trends in exports and imports
Markets

Recent trends in exports and imports

The external trade statistics have been released somewhat belatedly by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for the months of July and August 2019. These statistics need to be analyzed carefully to determine why exports have registered a growth rate of less
Updated 25 Sep, 2019 10:31am
Surging external debt
Markets

Surging external debt

The total external debt and liabilities of Pakistan have risen to above $ 106 billion by the end of 2018-19. There was an increase of $11.1 billion during the year. However, this was somewhat smaller than the rise in the level of external debt and liabili
Updated 17 Sep, 2019 07:12am
Management of public finances
Print

Management of public finances

The budgetary debacle of 2018-19 has raised questions about the quality of financial management by senior officials of the Ministry of Finance. Not only is the budget deficit the largest since the 80s at 8.9 percent of the GDP but also the spillover from
Published 03 Sep, 2019 12:00am
2019-20 fiscal targets in IMF programme
Print

2019-20 fiscal targets in IMF programme

The year, 2018-19, has come to a close with a very different outcome than was originally anticipated. The budget for the year was presented initially in May 2018 by the outgoing PML(N) Government. This envisaged a budget deficit of 4.9 percent of the GDP,
Published 27 Aug, 2019 12:00am
Spate of bad news
Markets

Spate of bad news

The release of economic statistics recently by the FBS and the SBP has magnified concerns about the state of the economy and adverse short-run developments. These statistics relate to various aspects of the economy like the public finances, balance of pay
Published 20 Aug, 2019 12:00am
Spurt in inflation
Markets

Spurt in inflation

Inflation has hit a double-digit rate of 10.3 percent in July 2019. This has happened after a gap of over six years. The spurt in inflation has been happening since September 2018 when it started at 5.2 percent. It rose to 6.2 percent in December 2018, to
Published 06 Aug, 2019 12:00am
Pakistan's international rankings
Print

Pakistan's international rankings

Recent assessments by international agencies of Pakistan's relative position in South Asia generally place it at the bottom of the table, especially with regard to the rate of economic growth. The basic question is whether this is also the case in diverse
Published 30 Jul, 2019 12:00am
Faulty estimates
Print

Faulty estimates

The Pakistan Economic Survey [PES] for 2018-19 was released last month. This was immediately followed by the presentation of the Federal budget documents for 2019-20 to the National Assembly. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) continues to publish on
Published 16 Jul, 2019 12:00am
The stabilisation effort
Markets

The stabilisation effort

There have been many negative developments in the national economy in 2018-19. The headline statistic is, of course, the precipitous drop in the GDP growth rate to 3.3 percent from 5.5 percent last year. There are reasons to believe that the growth rate m
Published 02 Jul, 2019 12:00am
Budget 2019-20: Assessment of taxation proposals
Markets

Budget 2019-20: Assessment of taxation proposals

The Budget of 2019-20 contains over a hundred proposals spread over 30 pages related to the granting of tax reliefs, measures to generate additional tax revenues and improvements in the tax system, especially to reduce tax evasion. Seldom has one year's b
Published 25 Jun, 2019 12:00am
The forthcoming budget
Print

The forthcoming budget

The Federal budget for 2019-20 will be presented tomorrow in the Parliament. This budget has considerable significance. First, it will present the expected budgetary outcome for the on-going financial year, 2018-19. This will enable an assessment of the q
Published 10 Jun, 2019 12:00am
Outlook for 2019-20
Markets

Outlook for 2019-20

The year, 2018-19, is about to close with a marked slowdown in the economy. First estimates are that the GDP growth rate has plummeted to 3.3 percent as compared to 5.5 percent last year. Simultaneously, the average monthly rate of inflation has approache
Published 04 Jun, 2019 12:00am