Finance & Market

Every year billion of dollar or payment sent by overseas to their home countries. Over the last twenty years these remittances are being utilized for developmental activities and to sustain Pakistan economy. Remittance plays integral part in easing the current account deficit, providing balance of payment increase of export, labor force and market situation as well. Therefore remittances are referred as engine of economic growth. In the month of July …

Sindh Budget The Sindh government presented the budget for FY2020-21 with a total outlay of Rs1.24 trillion with an estimated narrow deficit despite falling inflows from the federal divisible pool. Sources mentioned that the province is hoping to generate revenue receipts worth Rs1.22 trillion against its total expenditure. The provincial government has also not proclaimed any new taxes and envisaged a deficit of Rs18.38 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. …

The budget proposals for 2020-2021, prepared by the Adviser on Finance and Revenue, Dr. Hafeez Shaikh — against the backdrop of potentially the biggest public health emergency and economic downturn in generations — and presented on the floor of the House by Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, boldly announced, “There are no new taxes in this budget.” This could be termed as an activity of an ordinary salesman …

These are extraordinary days where extraordinary steps and out of box solutions are required. Budget deficit was estimated around 7.2 percent in fiscal year 2019-20 which is around 8.9 percent; likewise budget deficit is being estimated at around 9.1 percent which will cross 10 percent when the actual numbers will be calculated in 2021. Pakistan’s public debt has risen by almost 40 percent in the past two years; from Rs. …

The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the global economy, and financial sector in particular, are still unpredictable. It has crippled economic activities, overturned supply chains and crumpled the demands for goods. The virus has forced both the consumers and the businesses to spend and invest less. The consensus amongst most economists is the slow downing and eventually downward revisions in GDP growth targets. Countries have introduced stimulus programs to …

Central banks around the world have slashed interest rates, though perhaps none as aggressively as State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). According to a recent report by Bloomberg, Pakistan has cut its interest rates the most this year, out of a survey of nine countries, including the US, Peru, South Africa, Turkey and Ukraine. Coronavirus has created ‘unique’ challenges for a monetary policy due to its non-economic origin. In last three …

Presently, Pakistan seems to be suffering from ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ – a psychological condition wherein a captive begins to identify closely with his or her captors, as well as with their agenda and demands. The obsession and the unwavering trust in multilateral agencies, including IMF, and the traditional foreign bilateral partners, particularly Saudi Arabia and the strings attached with the helping-hand ever extended by them in the past bears testimony to the …

Pakistan Day is celebrated with great fervor every year, but this year the circumstances are very different. People are living under extreme fear due to coronavirus pandemic, not only in Pakistan but around the world. The death of dozens of people from the pandemic, reminds us hundreds and thousands of people, who were assassinated after the partition of subcontinent. This also reminds the helplessness and the difficult administrative and financial conditions prevailing at …

The monetary policy is the key to influence trade/ current account of any country. The extent and the effectiveness of that, however, vary from country to country, given country’s own political and economic dynamics and other realities on the ground. These elements must not be used as ‘one-size, fits-all’ as part of the template to manage the economy, particularly the external account. The effectiveness of monetary policy is already under debate these …

At its meeting on 17th March 2020, the State Bank of Pakistan’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 75 bps to 12.50 percent. The decision reflected the MPC’s view that the outlook for inflation has improved in light of the recent deceleration in domestic food prices, significant decline in consumer price expectations, sharp fall in global oil prices, and slowdown in external and domestic demand due to …