Miscellaneous Foreign grants: taken for granted? The term “development partners” has been in vogue for quite some time in the donor circles of Islamabad. It’s a euphemis Updated 05 Dec, 2019 11:29am
Miscellaneous Stewardship through refuge-in-a-bag Central to the criticism of genetically modified crops is the fear that weeds and pests may develop resistance against b Updated 05 Dec, 2019 08:19am
Miscellaneous All roads lead to tariffs, none to growth No dull day in international politics where U.S. President Donald Trump is involved. The President lives in a steady sta Published 05 Dec, 2019 05:44am
Miscellaneous Peaking food inflation The headline inflation stood at 12.7 percent in Nov-19, in line with the expectations. On monthly basis, the toll is up Published 05 Dec, 2019 05:32am
Miscellaneous Bt. Cotton: global experience The standard complain of Pakistan's textile industry is that cotton production is witnessing a freefall, led by a secula Published 04 Dec, 2019 07:38am
Miscellaneous The clock is ticking for FBR What should have been announced through a formal detailed data release by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) came in fac Published 04 Dec, 2019 07:28am
Miscellaneous Macro obsessions Despite the increasingly powerful reign of chicken in Pakistan, the country is unable to competitively export chicken to Updated 03 Dec, 2019 11:10am
Miscellaneous Rise of multilateral financing Amid improving macroeconomic stability and fiscal prudence, another green shoot is the healthy inflows from official, mu Updated 03 Dec, 2019 11:24am
Miscellaneous How not to write FBR’s revenue yearbook? The FBR released its FY19 revenue yearbook a few days ago. As is the case each year, the revenue yearbook is a motely mi Updated 02 Dec, 2019 11:22am
Miscellaneous Need for higher development spending With the fiscal and current account deficits under control, probably earlier than some observers had thought, there is a Updated 02 Dec, 2019 11:36am
Miscellaneous Support prices: where is the change? In the past week alone, the economic wizards of federal government have twice sat together to deliberate commodity suppo Updated 02 Dec, 2019 11:39am
Miscellaneous Price control in Riyasat-e-Madina Milton Friedman is quoted to have said that "if the federal government were put in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five Updated 23 Oct, 2019 12:59pm
Miscellaneous The future of work Businesses in Pakistan may be put into three kind of boxes: the aging legacy types, corporates or family-owned SMEs, th Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:01pm
Miscellaneous Exports: High volumes alone won’t cut it The current account deficit for September 2019 at $259 million would have sounded extremely outlandish a year ago. But i Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:06pm
Miscellaneous Pakistan needs PPP Governments in Pakistan, including provincial ones, do not have money to spend on development. Private sector is cash ri Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:43pm
Miscellaneous Rising onion prices bring tears Back in January, while commenting on the rabi crop projections for FY19, SBP’s State of the Economy report had noted tha Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:10pm
Miscellaneous On cellphone imports It’s probably a false alarm. As per central bank data, mobile phone imports came in at roughly $74 million for July 2019 Updated 20 Sep, 2019 05:57am
Miscellaneous Much ado about 5G The quest to bring 5G to Pakistan is off to a controversial start. Last month, Zong marketed itself as “the first and on Updated 19 Sep, 2019 06:01am
Miscellaneous Inflation holds the key Central banks are like ocean liners they take time to change directions. Something on those lines was the SBP Governor i Updated 18 Sep, 2019 06:41am
Miscellaneous Textbooks economics and support prices It has been repeatedly highlighted that support price mechanism create distortions in commodity markets by de-coupling p Updated 18 Sep, 2019 08:53am
Miscellaneous Is there room for movement on support price? Support prices are a tricky business. Ostensibly set to improve farm economics, support price mechanism is often upwards Updated 17 Sep, 2019 06:50am
Miscellaneous Remittances on seasonal slump As expected, the home remittances in August 2019 witnessed a dip. The decline of 17 percent month-on-month was seen as a Updated 17 Sep, 2019 06:37am
Miscellaneous Good vibes from DC If the world is looking to wait out Trump, perhaps it should pay attention to the Democratic presidential race. This goe Updated 16 Sep, 2019 07:01am
Miscellaneous D-Day for Sugar in December For several years now, commentators and experts alike have insisted that Pakistan produces white sugar in surplus, often Updated 16 Sep, 2019 07:01am
Miscellaneous Monetary policy: status quo for now likely The monetary policy is to be announced on Monday- two months after the previous policy, and a day before a high level IM Updated 13 Sep, 2019 06:20am
Miscellaneous FATF: grace period? The clock is ticking. Pakistan has now presented its last stand before FATF’s regional body. The finance ministry sounds Updated 13 Sep, 2019 06:20am
Miscellaneous Going under: prognosis negative Limited liability companies, by definition, enjoy the freedom of declaring bankruptcy if and when fundamentals of busine Updated 13 Sep, 2019 06:55am
Miscellaneous Readying for hot money The recipe sought to jack up reserves in coming quarters is to attract foreign portfolio investment in government de Updated 12 Sep, 2019 08:11am
Miscellaneous On chambers’ solutions for economic problems Last week, the All Pakistan Chambers Convention (APCC) released their White Paper on challenges and the way forward for Updated 12 Sep, 2019 05:51am
Miscellaneous Save the deal The abrupt suspension of Afghan peace talks has surprised many. Folks are wondering whether the “deal in principle” can Updated 12 Sep, 2019 05:52am
Miscellaneous Tourism – still a long way to go Be it the local or international tourists, solo travelers, families, backpackers, or travel bloggers – Pakistan has not Updated 12 Sep, 2019 05:53am
Miscellaneous Does it nudge you? Macro problems are symptoms of numerous micro frictions which are termed as transaction costs and regulatory hurdles. Wh Updated 06 Sep, 2019 06:02am
Miscellaneous Rebased CPI treats energy the right way! The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has earned applause. The long awaited rebased CPI is here and the initial impres Updated 06 Sep, 2019 05:35am
Miscellaneous A bird in hand A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Especially when the avian is a golden goose that is unwilling to yield. The Updated 06 Sep, 2019 05:46am
Miscellaneous Looming debt crisis of non-diversified mills Monetary tightening has never been a friend to industries in private sector. But it appears that the latest round of dou Updated 06 Sep, 2019 05:36am
Miscellaneous New CPI – new realities The wait is over. The rebased CPI came with a good news of almost one percentage point reduction in CPI for August, as Updated 05 Sep, 2019 07:47am
Miscellaneous Pakistan’s basmati challenge During the last decade, Pakistan’s premium rice has lost ground in the international market much like a shoreline to an Updated 05 Sep, 2019 06:24am
Miscellaneous Is unemployment really Pakistan’s big issue? In recent news, Peshawar Electric Supply Company informed the Senate that 750,000 applicants applied for just 3,200 Updated 05 Sep, 2019 06:42am
Miscellaneous Can Pakistan attract debt market flows? Foreign flows to Pakistan’s government debt market – Treasury Bills to be specific – have resumed after a hiatus of abou Updated 04 Sep, 2019 05:10am
Miscellaneous Changing sugarcane crushing cycle Appeals for timely start of sugarcane crushing have become the clarion call of grower associations for the past several Updated 04 Sep, 2019 06:46am
Miscellaneous Eyes on fiscal now There are talks of interest rates cut in the second half of this fiscal (some even are eying for doves to dominate in No Updated 04 Sep, 2019 06:44am
Miscellaneous FBR’s 2MFY20 report card This is probably the first time ever, when monthly tax collection data is scrutinised and debated within and outside eco Updated 03 Sep, 2019 05:22am
Miscellaneous Punjab urban property tax Cities develop and sustain based on financing and its service delivery. Within urban taxation domain, tax on immovable p Updated 03 Sep, 2019 06:01am
Miscellaneous First promise to the IMF broken Two months into the IMF programme and the first promise to the IMF goes for a walk. This has largely gone unnoticed in t Updated 03 Sep, 2019 07:24am
Miscellaneous HASCOL’s miserable 1HCY19 Imports-led businesses have had a bad start to 2019 (or a bad end to FY19 in cases where they follow the fiscal year). E Updated 03 Sep, 2019 05:20am
Miscellaneous Is PTI able to manage its shop? In October 2018 PM Imran Khan said he “was surprised” over the absence of macroeconomic experts and other subject matter Updated 02 Sep, 2019 05:50am
Miscellaneous All eyes on Shabbar Shabbar Zaidi, the FBR Chairman, is the man to anchor the second year of a five-year match. The first was not good for t Updated 02 Sep, 2019 05:17am
Miscellaneous Regional cooperation Commonwealth, OIC, SCO, ECO, and SAARC. The list of alphabet soup of intergovernmental organizations that Pakistan is an Updated 02 Sep, 2019 06:10am
Miscellaneous EPQL in good shape 2018 and 2019 have seen a spike in currency deprecation, which has been one key factor in determining the profitability Updated 30 Aug, 2019 06:12am
Miscellaneous Karachi, Karachi! It used to be called the City of Lights. Anyone living in Karachi over the last few decades might as well des Updated 29 Aug, 2019 05:09am
Miscellaneous Frictions in real estate There are micro frictions that are hindering major economic sectors to attain their true potential. Real estate is a maj Updated 29 Aug, 2019 04:54am
Miscellaneous Capital structure of listed sugar mills The policy rate is at an eight-year high of 13.25 percent, and prominent economists are declaring it ‘default’ seaso Updated 28 Aug, 2019 10:04am
Miscellaneous Privatisation: how green are the green signals According to media reports, the Privatisation Commission has identified ten public sector entities (PSEs) for privat Updated 28 Aug, 2019 07:23am
Miscellaneous EFUG bogged down by costs General Insurance Limited (PSX: EFUG) has recently announced its financial performance for the first six months of 2019 Updated 28 Aug, 2019 06:56am
Miscellaneous Clipped wings of Pakistan’s aviation The Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) recent report on the market and regulatory assessment of the country’s ai Updated 27 Aug, 2019 07:15am
Miscellaneous Loyalty won’t save the day Gone are the days when sticking to one product or name was the thought process of consumers. With changing preferences, Updated 27 Aug, 2019 07:00am
Miscellaneous Sindh sugarcane crop in three maps Is there a method to the madness of sugarcane landscape in Sindh? Despite its disproportionate share in newspaper headli Published 26 Aug, 2019 06:44am
Miscellaneous Rice bowls of Sindh and Punjab The illustrations of district-wise yields in Sindh and Punjab look like a patchwork. Only one district in each region ha Published 23 Aug, 2019 06:35am
Miscellaneous Sindh’s yield masks Pakistan cotton potential What is an anomaly? In 2012, Pakistan’s cotton recorded its highest-ever yield at 815 kg per hectare. According to Annua Published 22 Aug, 2019 06:45am
Miscellaneous CPEC Authority PM Khan’s decision to set up CPEC Authority for quick and judicious completion of CPEC projects is a tacit acceptance th Published 21 Aug, 2019 06:12am
Miscellaneous Micro silver linings in macro abyss The macro numbers are getting worse as the tightening measures are not reaping results – the impact is likely to come wi Published 21 Aug, 2019 06:09am
Miscellaneous Kharif crops: who’s the thirstiest of all? Bore a well in any part of Sindh, and eight out of ten times the aquifer will spurt out saline water unusable for irriga Published 21 Aug, 2019 06:04am
Miscellaneous Sindh’s water volatility During 1980-2000, the rural landscape of Punjab saw a revolution that led to over 25 percent increase in area under cult Published 19 Aug, 2019 06:14am
Miscellaneous Chasing English Next to 5 million children out of primary school in Pakistan— a number large enough itself to sound off some alarming be Published 19 Aug, 2019 06:04am
Miscellaneous Reversing trends: cane-substitution in South Sindh Unlike most of northern Indus basin where shortage of water in the canal system can be easily substituted by groundwater Published 16 Aug, 2019 06:28am
Miscellaneous Will sacked doctors in Saudi dent remittance flows? In latest dent to Pakistan’s image and possibly to remittance inflows, Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistani doctors and othe Published 16 Aug, 2019 06:02am
Miscellaneous Changing landscape of Sindh’s sugarcane Between 2006-16, 10 sugar mills came online in Sindh. During this period, sugarcane crushing by mills in the province in Published 09 Aug, 2019 07:05am
Miscellaneous Punjab Spatial Strategy Cities are engine of growth; and to attain the potential of resources, proper planning is at the core, and to plan, the Published 09 Aug, 2019 07:05am
Miscellaneous Sindh’s governance at greater risk A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court’s judge Justice Gulzar Ahmed said Sindh is the most corrupt province in Pakistan, sin Published 08 Aug, 2019 08:06am
Miscellaneous Too soon to cheer for tax filer growth According to media reports the number of tax filers for FY18 is 2.34 million – the highest figure ever. But that number Published 07 Aug, 2019 06:52am
Miscellaneous Falling economic transactions The fall in economic activities, including basic transactions, is yet to touch rock bottom. There are two reasons to sup Published 07 Aug, 2019 06:48am
Miscellaneous CPI – will the PBS get it right (ever)? The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) seems to have no response on being pointed out at the faulty calculations of gas Updated 07 Aug, 2019 07:21am
Miscellaneous What is the wheat consumption? Pakistan’s wheat demand, in the words of Winston Churchill, “is a riddle wrapped in a mystery”. But equally difficult is Updated 07 Aug, 2019 12:41pm
Miscellaneous Clean Karachi – and then? Pakistanis are charitable people. Once again, and not for the last time, they have now been lured to ‘donate’ for a nobl Published 06 Aug, 2019 05:36am
Miscellaneous CPI – correction time for PBS, again! The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is the most important data collection and dissemination authority in Pakistan. I Published 05 Aug, 2019 07:15am
Miscellaneous FBR’s July 2019 report card FBR has missed its tax collection target for July 2019 by Rs14 billion. So went the headlines last week. Is that a huge Published 05 Aug, 2019 06:48am
Miscellaneous Inflation in double digits The last time monthly double digits CPI was in Nov 13 (10.9%) – 5 months into the PMLN tenure. In July 19, the headline Published 05 Aug, 2019 06:38am
Miscellaneous Of wheat flour consumption In ‘Is Pakistan wheat insecure?’ , it was established that per capita wheat availability in the country stands at an av Updated 05 Aug, 2019 07:14am
Miscellaneous Resetting the economy Are we subject to decimating the aggregate demand to reset the economy? The pricing adjustments are taking place more th Published 02 Aug, 2019 06:40am
Miscellaneous Is corruption Pakistan’s biggest problem? PM Khan’s container-like speeches and the ensuing actions by NAB against politicians and politically connected persons h Published 02 Aug, 2019 06:40am
Miscellaneous Indo-Pak: what next? Under PM Khan, Pakistan’s eagerness to restore normal relations with India is out in the open. But so far the overtures Updated 01 Aug, 2019 07:09am
Miscellaneous Corruption: thinking beyond NAB & politicians NAB has done this and NAB has done that. So goes the headlines these days. Or that a politically connected person has be Published 01 Aug, 2019 06:10am
Miscellaneous Sucrose ratio driving mill utilization In ‘ Set the cane market free’ , published in this space on July 29, 2019, it was surmised that installation of addition Published 31 Jul, 2019 06:26am
Miscellaneous CPI rebasing : eagerly awaited The IMF expects FY20 average inflation at 13 percent and period end at 11.8 percent, while the market is expecting lower Published 30 Jul, 2019 08:20am
Miscellaneous Friends and foes When the Khan government started its term a year ago, a number of foreign policy challenges confronted Pakistan. Erstwhi Published 30 Jul, 2019 08:16am
Miscellaneous Set the cane market free*! Some images become etched in memory. One such memory for many Pakistanis growing up in the cable TV era may be an image Updated 30 Jul, 2019 10:15am
Miscellaneous Regulating tea prices Recently there has been some noise over tea importers and suppliers planning to increase tea prices from next month espe Updated 30 Jul, 2019 09:58am
Miscellaneous Sugar export: winners & losers Sugar subsidy is a funny thing. Last year, when Sindh government announced a cumulative subsidy of Rs 20 per kg on expor Updated 26 Jul, 2019 08:52am
Miscellaneous In pursuit of exports Resolution of Pakistan’s perennial macroeconomic woes depends on growing exports and sustaining them on a high level. Al Published 26 Jul, 2019 07:10am
Miscellaneous On the basis of tax distribution That Pakistan should give lesser importance to population when it comes to the basis of distribution of taxes among the Published 26 Jul, 2019 06:57am
Miscellaneous Fertiliser off-take flattens, spending soars Farmer spent the highest ever on fertilizers in FY19. The total urea and DAP combined application in FY19 was down by 2 Published 26 Jul, 2019 06:27am
Miscellaneous Pakistan’s economy: 50 years ago Who knew a trip to library could be a depressing affair? Yesterday morning, BR Research stumbled upon a dusty old copy o Published 25 Jul, 2019 06:46am
Miscellaneous Khan’s diplomatic coup It was a high-risk, low-return scenario. But from Pakistan’s perspective, PM Khan’s White House visit could not have gon Published 24 Jul, 2019 07:10am
Miscellaneous The rusty cogs of policymaking process Pakistan’s Fisheries Exporters Association is unhappy with the “sudden implementation of fisheries policy without consul Published 24 Jul, 2019 07:07am
Miscellaneous Using food security paradigm to forecast wheat demand In a series of columns published in this space, several key conclusions about Pakistan’s current food security paradigm Published 24 Jul, 2019 06:55am
Miscellaneous Imports and the bogeyman Boo! Parents (often cruelly) use the bogeyman to scare their errant children and condition better behaviour and obedienc Published 23 Jul, 2019 06:46am
Miscellaneous Khan at Capital One: a lost opportunity That PM Khan managed to attract such a big audience in Washington deserves commendation. It has probably left his rivals Updated 23 Jul, 2019 06:56am
Miscellaneous Is Pakistan wheat-insecure? Consider following three facts. First, as per annual crop statistics, Pakistan is among world’s top 25 regions with annu Published 23 Jul, 2019 06:22am
Miscellaneous Export silver linings Many hopes were pinned on exports to help improve Pakistan’s trade deficit, especially in view of massive currency depre Published 22 Jul, 2019 06:43am
Miscellaneous Mad about Cad? Kudos to the government for chopping the current account deficit (Cad) significantly in FY19! At $13.6 billion, Cad came Published 22 Jul, 2019 06:35am
Miscellaneous Cereals for our future Outside of developed world and Middle East, Pakistan has one of the highest per capita consumption of wheat in the world Published 22 Jul, 2019 06:28am
Miscellaneous Correct diagnosis; incorrect prescription “Malnutrition costs Pakistan three percent ($7.6 billion) in GDP”, SBP quotes UN-FAO, in its quarterly report on the Sta Published 18 Jul, 2019 06:36am
Miscellaneous WPI heating up While the CPI inflation gets noticed more for obvious reasons, the oft-ignored Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is foretellin Published 18 Jul, 2019 06:24am
Miscellaneous Tanking think-tanks Congratulations! The federal government has reportedly approved project to establish a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Published 18 Jul, 2019 06:08am
Miscellaneous Mantras are nice, but common sense is nicer At a press talk two weeks ago, the federal minister for Ministry of National Food Security & Research - flanked by t Published 17 Jul, 2019 07:33am
Miscellaneous The future of Make in Pakistan The Make in Pakistan thesis has been sold well. And following the currency depreciation along with changes in import tar Published 17 Jul, 2019 07:10am
Miscellaneous Reko Diq: time to negotiate If Reko Diq indeed stands on the remains of a volcano, then it is perhaps apt that the controversial mining project in t Published 16 Jul, 2019 07:40am
Miscellaneous Of strikes and lockdowns According to a latest poll by Gallup Pakistan, public opinion on the opposition’s plans to protest against the governmen Published 16 Jul, 2019 07:16am
Miscellaneous Explaining falling farming growth The sectoral share of agriculture sector in GDP has consistently been falling since independence. From over half of GDP Published 16 Jul, 2019 07:00am
Miscellaneous Reviewing climate change Pakistan stands fairly low on the carbon footprint scale relative to its peers in the region. However, as the monsoon ar Published 16 Jul, 2019 06:46am
Miscellaneous Will the exports rise? (ever?) If you are one for reading the “bigger picture”, Pakistan seems to be doing just fine in terms of trade balance. It is n Published 15 Jul, 2019 06:41am
Miscellaneous Anatomy of cotton belt Pakistan’s largest cash crop is grown in over half of the districts of the country, from Awaran in hinterlands of Baloch Published 15 Jul, 2019 06:38am
Miscellaneous Lure of the long-shot A few days ago, the Washington Post ran a feature cleverly titled “Random Man Runs for President” quite literally descri Published 15 Jul, 2019 06:35am
Miscellaneous Fruits of fiscal Consolidation Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Reading the perennial multilateral lender’s latest country report on Pakistan, Published 15 Jul, 2019 06:32am
Miscellaneous SOEs & IMF’s conditionalities When Leonard Cohen sang Everybody Knows, he probably didn’t have Pakistan’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in mind. But Published 11 Jul, 2019 06:13am
Miscellaneous PBC’s ‘Make in Pakistan’ report card It’s difficult to say whether or not Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has given a clean chit to PTI government. PBC’s len Published 10 Jul, 2019 06:14am
Miscellaneous Cropping patterns in Punjab It is difficult to separate noise from hard facts without data, except the tradition refuses to take root in Pakistan. J Published 10 Jul, 2019 06:07am
Miscellaneous Economic assistance: China leads, US recedes The recently-released yearbook on economic assistance serves yet another reminder that it is China – not the US – whose Published 10 Jul, 2019 06:03am
Miscellaneous Reform needs strat.comm. managers It’s the season of strikes. Traders in Karachi; APTMA; Faisalabad textile mill owners; Karachi transporters; and a few o Published 09 Jul, 2019 06:14am
Miscellaneous Can Khan court Donald? Is the US-Pakistan bilateral finally getting a break? Maybe yes, maybe not – just as Donald Trump likes to say. The prem Published 09 Jul, 2019 05:29am
Miscellaneous The usual suspects Kudos to the Planning Commission for standing up for development! Well, for standing up somewhat, as far as numbers are Published 08 Jul, 2019 06:34am
Miscellaneous Zamindar’s fixation with cane Averages are the most brilliant invention in statistics, yet they can be used to manipulate facts in the most devious wa Updated 05 Jul, 2019 11:53am
Miscellaneous Tyranny of optimism Politicians, when in power, share a unique trait with tech entrepreneurs. It’s the trait of optimism on the basis of whi Published 05 Jul, 2019 06:09am
Miscellaneous Roti, kapra, (and then maybe) makaan As far as political promises go, surely Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan Housing Plan is neither original nor entirely fancifu Updated 04 Jul, 2019 06:42am
Miscellaneous Bring land reforms to counter radicalism Southern Punjab’s socio-economic makeup piqued public interest earlier this year, when news of counter-terrorism operati Published 04 Jul, 2019 06:06am
Miscellaneous SOEs – clueless again Yesterday’s piece on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) ended on the note that the fixing of SOEs doesn’t appear on the hori Published 04 Jul, 2019 06:04am
Miscellaneous The ‘white’ elephants and the rope There is simply no analogy between the actual elephant and the rope mindset, and the state owned enterprises (SOEs) in P Published 04 Jul, 2019 06:02am
Miscellaneous CPI: time to welcome double digits Expect the PTI to boast of inflation figures, first year in office. The CPI clocked in at 7.3 percent year-on-year for F Published 03 Jul, 2019 06:24am
Miscellaneous Sick enterprises The finance ministry’s latest report on the federal footprint on economy courtesy the state-owned enterprises (SOE) has Published 03 Jul, 2019 06:19am
Miscellaneous An ode to shadows Politics’ love affair with the shadows is a longstanding tradition. In the past, these behind-the-scene operatives have Updated 03 Jul, 2019 06:31am
Miscellaneous Attn businesses: society is your biggest consumer In late 2016, the British Council (Pakistan) partnered with Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) to launch a Published 02 Jul, 2019 06:25am
Miscellaneous Dazed and confused Readers know this column has an interest in following the US presidential campaigns, for what happens in DC still has an Published 02 Jul, 2019 06:20am
Miscellaneous End of OTC? As Pakistan struggles to meet FATF requirements, there is speculation that the branchless banking sector may be affected Published 01 Jul, 2019 06:41am
Miscellaneous Asset declaration: ambiguities, lacunae, solutions The deadline of the ongoing asset declaration scheme is nearly upon us. With three days left, a few ambiguities and lacu Published 28 Jun, 2019 05:55am
Miscellaneous Naya Pakistan Housing: out of reach, out of touch? Every promise that this government has made has been overly ambitious. Even a little venerable in its sheer ambition, th Updated 28 Jun, 2019 01:44pm
Miscellaneous Crop-based exports: adapt or die? Pakistan’s status as a low-value commodity exporter is at best a misnomer. Over the past decade, consolidated share of c Published 28 Jun, 2019 05:44am
Miscellaneous Agri-exports: let’s not lose perspective! What will take for Pakistani exports to pick up steam? Certainly not currency devaluation. Prima facie, that’s the verdi Published 27 Jun, 2019 07:11am
Miscellaneous Farming our future Who will be the farmer of the future? The globally renowned agricultural and food expert Prof. Louise Fresco raised this Updated 01 Jul, 2019 09:17am
Miscellaneous Exports constant, but quality improves Exports did not vote for change it appears. Eleven months into FY19, and they continue to be stubborn, refusing to move Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:49am
Miscellaneous Whither cotton emergency? For months, PTI’s economy team hinted at revolutionary steps for cotton revival on national forums including ECC and fed Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:46am
Miscellaneous Want entrepreneurship? Change mindset! Thanks to hyper changes in technology, it is one of the first times in human history when we don’t know what jobs will l Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:41am
Miscellaneous Gold gets going The global geo-political atmosphere is heating up. Just a few days back, a US surveillance drone was downed near the Ira Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:31am
Miscellaneous How should employees Tweet? Morality is an acquired taste. Little else can be said about it with certainty. Earlier this month, a bank employee twee Published 25 Jun, 2019 05:43am
Miscellaneous The fog of FATF On an issue that may potentially leave Pakistani citizens and businesses poorer in years to come, the federal government Published 25 Jun, 2019 05:41am
Miscellaneous Contrasting provincial development budgets All four provincial budgets are in. Now it’s time to examine how they fare against each other on development. It’s a que Published 24 Jun, 2019 06:02am
Miscellaneous Tuition time in the parliament The Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House proposed a Charter of Economy (CoE) to the government. In the next breat Published 21 Jun, 2019 05:38am
Miscellaneous Budget FY20 for real estate sector Among other taxation measures, Budget FY20 proposals for the property sector have been aimed at expanding the tax base a Published 21 Jun, 2019 05:32am
Miscellaneous KP: high on development After Fata’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), an already under-developed province’s development needs have increased Published 20 Jun, 2019 06:59am
Miscellaneous Hafeez fights back! At a post-budget conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan last Saturday, Dr Abdul Hafe Published 19 Jun, 2019 06:31am
Miscellaneous Sindh struggles for development For development, the budget is tight across the federating units. Just as Punjab, the province of Sindh has is also faci Published 19 Jun, 2019 06:26am
Miscellaneous Imports pay a surprise visit Having hit a 30-month low of $4.1 billion, imports are back with a bang. Imports for May 2019 have been recorded at a li Published 19 Jun, 2019 06:21am
Miscellaneous Beyond Econ 101 Professor Baqer delivered an Econ 101 lecture to journalists is his maiden moot where he explained the role of exchange Published 18 Jun, 2019 06:40am
Miscellaneous Punjab: Development has to wait As opposed to the spending spree of PML-N in its later years ruling Punjab, the PTI government has been holding its fire Published 18 Jun, 2019 06:31am
Miscellaneous Falling livestock GDP Last week BR Research flagged how livestock sector, which has 60 percent share in agriculture GDP has been growing at a Published 17 Jun, 2019 06:44am
Miscellaneous Corporate sector in Budget 2019-20 Budget FY20 is almost a 180-degree flip to what Budget FY19 looked like. Where FY19 Budget was marked largely by broad-b Published 14 Jun, 2019 06:30am
Miscellaneous Budget FY20: discouraging packaged meat The central theme of proposed federal budget for FY20 is documentation; and that’s not merely lip service. Actual change Published 14 Jun, 2019 06:30am
Miscellaneous The revenge of agri-free market? “Rice leads cotton in major kharif crops”, reads the headlines from 2009, when acreage under white gold trailed paddy by Published 14 Jun, 2019 06:22am
Miscellaneous GMO: separating fiction from fact “GMO is no silver bullet”, agreed representatives of CropLife Pakistan’s Seed Committee, in an interview with Business R Published 14 Jun, 2019 06:06am
Miscellaneous A much realistic budget The overall budget direction is right. There is a sense of paradigm shift with focus on enhancing direct taxation, penal Published 13 Jun, 2019 06:37am
Miscellaneous Has Islamabad really ignored health & education? ‘Federal budget ignores education and health’, wrote the Islamabad-based Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (C Published 13 Jun, 2019 06:35am
Miscellaneous Budget: paying to and for the unseen The opposition has often blamed the PTI for using the backdoor to come to power, blaming an “unseen” or “third” force. T Published 13 Jun, 2019 06:10am
Miscellaneous Does Shabbar have a magic spell? Until yesterday afternoon, magic and shamanism had no role to play in public finances. After the announcement of Pakista Updated 13 Jun, 2020 01:42pm
Miscellaneous Development: it's not enough Never mind the tall official figures as far as next development budget is concerned. After accounting for federal and pr Published 12 Jun, 2019 06:06am
Miscellaneous Explainer: salary income tax Miftah Ismail would surely have a wry smile on his face. What should actually be looked as a relief to salaried class un Published 12 Jun, 2019 05:59am
Miscellaneous Housing under duress The ambitious pet project of PM Imran Khan, Naya Pakistan Housing Program (NPHP), seems diametrically opposed to the bud Published 12 Jun, 2019 05:47am
Miscellaneous Facts, fiction & poor press engagement If the purpose of a press conference is to share relevant and material information with the press and answer their quest Published 11 Jun, 2019 05:39am
Miscellaneous The trillion rupee concessions Two mini-budgets, industrialists and corporate bigwigs running the government affairs – exemptions and concessions were Updated 11 Jun, 2019 05:47am
Miscellaneous Combating climate change If there is one sector where the current government has shown more fervour than its counterparts, it’s the focus on envi Published 11 Jun, 2019 05:18am
Miscellaneous CPI: All eyes on budget and energy pricing The CPI clocked in at 9.1 percent in May, slightly lower than market expectations. The 11 month average stood at 7.2 per Published 10 Jun, 2019 07:45am
Miscellaneous Academics are “tweeple” too! The phrase “I know that I know nothing” is attributed to Socrates, who when presented with the compliment of being the w Published 10 Jun, 2019 07:37am
Miscellaneous PSDP blues PSDP blues As expected, “development” is the major fiscal casualty in the “austerity” budget. Reportedly, the federal go Published 10 Jun, 2019 07:31am
Miscellaneous Discrepancy in regional sucrose yield & recovery A baffling level of discrepancy exists in yield and recovery levels within and between various sugarcane growing and mil Published 03 Jun, 2019 07:22am
Miscellaneous Some breathers Some pressure on the exchange rate and interest rate pricing is eased, a week before the budget. Crude oil coming down i Published 03 Jun, 2019 07:22am
Miscellaneous GMO redux After a two-month hiatus, reports on GMO seed technology have once again begun to do rounds in print media. Last week, a Published 03 Jun, 2019 07:05am
Miscellaneous Improving tourism marketing The PTI is betting big on tourism and has identified zones in each province for development of facilities and infrastruc Published 30 May, 2019 05:03am
Miscellaneous Dairy trade-offs: price vs. milk quality In a recent interview with BR Research, Sulaiman Monnoo, Senior Vice Chairman of Pakistan Dairy Association demanded tha Published 29 May, 2019 04:55am
Miscellaneous The climate-migration nexus An oft ignored side of climate change is its impact on local migration. The regular environmental degradation facilitate Published 29 May, 2019 04:44am
Miscellaneous Urban forests: changing cities Sometimes all it takes to solve complex problems is simple solutions. The same can be said of tackling the rising pollut Published 29 May, 2019 04:33am
Miscellaneous Fixing Gwadar’s governance Soon after three gunmen attacked Gwadar PC earlier this month, some sections of foreign press started raising question m Published 28 May, 2019 06:08am
Miscellaneous Uncle Biden and Pakistan Elections in India are over and Pakistanis aren’t exactly thrilled with the outcome. Onto the next election of interest. Updated 28 May, 2019 09:39am
Miscellaneous The taxation challenge This is the third week after finalization of IMF programme. The first week was depressing as the as the PTI economic tea Published 27 May, 2019 05:38am
Miscellaneous Orange is the new black India’s saffron revolution is nearing completion. The orange hues of BJP have managed to avoid a hung parliament, relega Published 27 May, 2019 05:19am
Miscellaneous Board of Investment: the missing discourse Haroon Shariff’s decision to resign from the Board of Investment (BoI) is not good news; nor is the news of Younus Dagha Published 24 May, 2019 06:35am
Miscellaneous 313 Grains of salt: Pak-China FTA The Pakistan-China FTA has had its fair share of criticism. The business community has complained that many of the count Updated 24 May, 2019 07:01am
Miscellaneous Sizing Pakistan’s ethanol market Numbers always manage to tell a story, even if those with a proprietary right may wish to withhold them. Pakistan’s etha Updated 24 May, 2019 07:12am
Miscellaneous Think import substitution After three months of under $1 billion monthly deficit (Jan-Mar monthly CAD avg: $674 mn), the current account deficit s Published 23 May, 2019 06:16am
Miscellaneous Bahawalpur province: start with lands reforms! The legendary South Punjab province! It’s a tale from Neverland – loosely based on the mythical oppression of people fro Published 23 May, 2019 06:09am
Miscellaneous Huawei: gloves are off There may be a method to this madness. But Donald J. Trump is taking Richard Nixon’s Madman Theory to a whole new level, Published 23 May, 2019 05:55am
Miscellaneous Getting inflation right An opposition that was supposed to be hiding in the slumbers or just fighting court cases for their respective leaders u Published 22 May, 2019 03:44am
Miscellaneous Demystifying food exports inertia PBS monthly trade numbers are out, and exports don’t seem to have bought into the rupee devaluation bonhomie. While 10MF Updated 22 May, 2019 10:04am
Miscellaneous Exports – zero sum game April was tipped as the starting point of export revival by a few circles. April came and went. The exports refused to h Published 21 May, 2019 07:34am
Miscellaneous Costly detours The country’s airspace closure has entered a third month amid the ongoing hostility between Pakistan and India post Pulw Updated 20 May, 2019 06:45am
Miscellaneous A Teflon prime minister? Nothing wastes political capital like an economic downturn. It’s not just in the West where consultants warn political i Updated 20 May, 2019 06:33am
Miscellaneous Tale of two amnesties Embarrassments aside, the Assets Declaration Ordinance 2019, commonly referred to as Amnesty Scheme , is one of the bett Published 17 May, 2019 05:10am
Miscellaneous Reinventing office space In an age of disruption, almost all conventional sectors have undergone a complete transformation in business model. Rid Published 17 May, 2019 04:53am
Miscellaneous Wheat prices: is it time to panic? News in the media suggests that the double whammy delivered by oil prices coupled with devastating rain fall in Punjab d Published 15 May, 2019 06:32am
Miscellaneous Too big to break? A social media giant finds itself under the spotlight again. Critics have previously charged that fake news, fake person Published 15 May, 2019 06:17am
Miscellaneous When the sky falls A year after unilaterally pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, the Trump administration has Iran right where it wanted Published 10 May, 2019 04:43am
Miscellaneous People are never happy Criticism on everything seems to be the favorite time pass; not just coming from opposition benches, but intellectuals o Published 09 May, 2019 03:49am
Miscellaneous From Shabbar’s lens Shabbar Zaidi is no stranger to tax policy and administration affairs in Pakistan. The official notification of his appo Published 08 May, 2019 06:55am
Miscellaneous Egypt, Pakistan and the IMF The central bank governor coming right from the IMF - managing Egypt, is fueling skepticism that the Fund has brought hi Published 07 May, 2019 05:36am
Miscellaneous PSDP’s April surprise Contrary to suspicions of a slowdown in development spending, the federal government’s development ledger seems is still Published 07 May, 2019 05:24am
Miscellaneous Press freedom! The World Press Freedom Day was celebrated last week (May 3). This year’s theme of Unesco’s annual conference marking th Published 06 May, 2019 06:31am
Miscellaneous Inflation challenges ahead The headline inflation came down from 9.4 percent in Mar19 to 8.8 percent in Apr19; the decline was expected as the high Published 03 May, 2019 06:42am
Miscellaneous Thanos: the last laugh Tickets for ‘Avengers: Endgame’ are reportedly in black trade in Karachi these days. As superhero movies go, the plot re Updated 03 May, 2019 06:46am
Miscellaneous Free the statistics (division) Andrew Marshall, arguably the most respected Pentagon strategist, died a few weeks ago. One of his many feats was to fla Published 02 May, 2019 06:46am
Miscellaneous SYS has a good start It’s been a good start to the year for a prominent local software house. As per a company notice sent to the stock excha Published 30 Apr, 2019 05:22am
Miscellaneous IMF programme: Could be very tough The IMF team is in Islamabad to finalize the conditions for the upcoming programme. Apart from an agreement on having a Published 29 Apr, 2019 06:50am
Miscellaneous Top-up to lose A judicial ruling on money matters is bound to draw mixed response, depending on how favourable the precedent is to one’ Published 29 Apr, 2019 06:49am
Miscellaneous Agri-Plotistan Populist notions peddled by the media often insinuate that most of Pakistan’s rural economy is landless, with land owner Published 24 Apr, 2019 06:15am
Miscellaneous Pakistan’s finmin curse Asad Umar’s removal from the Q-Block is a story bigger than Asad himself; it is also bigger than the PTI and its real or Published 24 Apr, 2019 05:55am
Miscellaneous Selling a purge Communist regimes in the middle-half of the twentieth century were notorious for what Western historians would later lab Published 23 Apr, 2019 06:00am
Miscellaneous Groundwater law: bring it in 21st century Pakistan’s water sector legislative landscape suffers from the disease of extremes: there are either too many competing Published 23 Apr, 2019 05:56am
Miscellaneous Exports — betting on quantity Exports at $17 billion in 9MFY19 – are virtually at the same level where they were in 9MFY18. For a few, it may be worri Published 23 Apr, 2019 05:52am
Miscellaneous Exploring NFC to boost exports It’s not funny when a former minister expresses his helplessness, his “wounds”, over the weaknesses of institutional, or Published 22 Apr, 2019 06:35am
Miscellaneous Ehsaas: the good, the bad, the strange If there is one feeling, screaming out from the government’s Ehsaas document, it is this: PM Khan’s heart may be in the Published 22 Apr, 2019 06:33am
Miscellaneous Hindsight is always 20-20 “Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what Published 22 Apr, 2019 06:24am
Miscellaneous Going, going, gone! With weather around, good cloud cover, and a fast and bouncy pitch – it will always be tough batting first. Tougher, if Published 19 Apr, 2019 06:20am
Miscellaneous The FM sent packing The Finance Minister Asad Umar has quit. Is it a good decision? That will depend on who replaces him. There is little Published 19 Apr, 2019 06:19am
Miscellaneous Fauji earnings: sunshine in a downpour In 1HFY19, cement production and dispatches for Fauji Cement (PSX: FCCL) were down while clinker production and revenues Published 19 Apr, 2019 06:17am
Miscellaneous Dolmen City REIT in 9MFY19 Drawing close to its four years in operations, Dolmen City REIT (PSX: DCR) announced its financial performance for 9MFY1 Published 19 Apr, 2019 06:01am
Miscellaneous Gold succumbs to bears The global economy seems to have steadied ship and the jitters have given way to optimism by market participants. This s Published 18 Apr, 2019 06:20am
Miscellaneous Tax reforms: PTI’s plan of action What’s PTI’s plan of action for tax reforms, and will it really work? These are some of the most asked questions by busi Published 17 Apr, 2019 07:00am
Miscellaneous A crowded bench Political observers in Pakistan are concerned about the outcome of elections in India and consequences of a potential NA Published 17 Apr, 2019 06:37am
Miscellaneous Reading PTI’s economic roadmap A roadmap that does not mention the distance between two points, or, as is in today’s digital world, does not tell you t Published 16 Apr, 2019 06:55am
Miscellaneous Trends in agricultural employment Finally! Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has released its annual compendium (for FY18) on trends in labour market, a Published 16 Apr, 2019 06:48am
Miscellaneous Startups: long-term bet The PTI gave an ambitious plan of creating 10 million jobs in the next five years. However, the economic slowdown has gi Published 15 Apr, 2019 06:41am
Miscellaneous (Not) dealing with zombies If Pakistan’s social and economic problems were to be given the face of a relatable movie character, it would probably b Published 12 Apr, 2019 07:03am
Miscellaneous Exports refuse to rise Imports continue the journey south – hitting a 30-month low of $4.1 billion in March 2019, registering a 21 percent year Published 12 Apr, 2019 06:33am
Miscellaneous CPI rebasing: no more simple averages please! The much awaited rebasing and reassigning of weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has reportedly been approved by Published 11 Apr, 2019 06:32am
Miscellaneous Agri-nomics needs stakeholders not consumers Official estimates put the contribution of agriculture sector at no more than one-fifth of Pakistan’s GDP. Yet, commenta Published 11 Apr, 2019 06:27am
Miscellaneous “Ehsas” for the poor After the launch if Insaaf heath cards, the government has recently taken another step in the human capital domain. Unde Published 11 Apr, 2019 06:10am
Miscellaneous Tax amnesty 2019: no place to hide? Never mind PTI’s U-turn on tax amnesties; much has been written about it in this space. (See Tax amnesty: putting the c Updated 10 Apr, 2019 06:58am
Miscellaneous Processed milk – embrace not divorce Pakistan’s economic potential is hidden in agriculture and its value addition. Within it, the dairy sector has significa Published 10 Apr, 2019 05:53am
Miscellaneous Polls apart Observers of Indo-Pak bilateral are eagerly awaiting the make-up of next government in New Delhi. Two days from now, Ind Published 09 Apr, 2019 04:50am
Miscellaneous Correcting inflation computation Inflation expectations are being mismanaged. There are not much demand side inflationary pressures. Inflation is low wor Published 08 Apr, 2019 07:22am
Miscellaneous Khan’s dream team When Imran Khan was rallying for general elections 2018, he promised he has a dream team of 200 people who can fix Pakis Published 08 Apr, 2019 07:17am
Miscellaneous Children and air pollution Look no further than South Asia for a region that will have its children’s’ life shortened the most due to air pollution Published 08 Apr, 2019 07:13am
Miscellaneous Rice: time to adopt SRI Pakistan’s rice is a highly export centric commodity, with an average 60 percent of total domestic production going towa Published 05 Apr, 2019 06:39am
Miscellaneous PTV’s losses: the devil is in the details The good old PTV was under fire this week when the Senate was recently informed that the state-owned national television Published 04 Apr, 2019 06:42am
Miscellaneous Unlocking the farming land potential It is said that real estate development in urban areas has converted the cities into “Plot-istan”, as property has becom Published 04 Apr, 2019 06:35am
Miscellaneous Eating words, learning lessons “We will double the FBR tax from Rs4000 billion to Rs8000 billion in one year.” “Tax amnesty schemes penalise the honest Updated 04 Apr, 2019 07:38am
Miscellaneous Inflation high but don’t panic March 2019 recorded highest CPI since Dec 2013, but that does not mean that inflation will hit double digit in April. Ma Published 03 Apr, 2019 06:45am
Miscellaneous PSDP: foreign aid dries up The Rs675 billion federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) is under the weather. As per Planning Commission (P Published 03 Apr, 2019 06:36am
Miscellaneous SYS had a blockbuster year So the bourse was saving the best for last. At the tail-end of the result season for CY18, a prominent local software ho Published 02 Apr, 2019 06:53am
Miscellaneous Time to talk population In an interview published yesterday, Dr Mehtab Karim, one of Pakistan’s handful of demographers said something rather al Published 02 Apr, 2019 06:40am
Miscellaneous Demystifying GM food crop “Man fears what he does not understand”. Yeats immortal words are an apt description of commonly held attitude towards g Published 01 Apr, 2019 05:15am
Miscellaneous Make in Pakistan and job creation dilemma Domestic businesses create jobs, imports don’t. This is the go-to argument of businesses across the board (not just big Published 01 Apr, 2019 05:04am
Miscellaneous Reading PTI’s economic management When the PTI came into power last year, both the business community and the citizens at large could be categorised in tw Published 29 Mar, 2019 06:01am
Miscellaneous No free water please! Good news first. There is only one. There are serious talks going on in Punjab to bring legislation in the form of a com Updated 29 Mar, 2019 07:04am
Miscellaneous Tax filers: zero return filers driving growth It’s difficult to glean a lot of meaningful information from unsorted data dumps that the FBR does every year in the nam Published 28 Mar, 2019 06:58am
Miscellaneous What’s going on in Punjab’s fertile crescent? Shrinking area under cotton cultivation has everyone worried, except like all things Pakistani, the concern seems to be Published 28 Mar, 2019 06:33am
Miscellaneous CPEC and manpower lot has been said about CPEC’s ability in generating new employment avenues in the country. No doubt; as China Pakistan Published 27 Mar, 2019 05:32am