One often hears statement like: 1) Pakistan is over populated, 2) size of its GDP is too small, 3) per capita income is minuscule, 4) a large percentage of population lives below the poverty line, 5) country has been surviving on borrowed money, 6) load shedding of electricity and gas is extensive and 7) despite being an atomic power, its survival is often threatened by whatever is happening in …

  Every third Pakistani is living below the poverty line Poverty alleviation was one of the key objectives of the economic agenda of the PML (N) government and microfinance is the most effective instruments of poverty reduction. As per World Bank estimates, around 25 million people live in extreme poverty in Pakistan and the adverse impacts of global financial, food, and fuel crises posed multiple challenges to Pakistan’s rapidly evolving …

  While announcing its monetary policy for next two months, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decided last month to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 10 percent. The analysts see no rationale to maintain the discount rate at 10 percent by the central bank as all fundamentals are in favor of a reduction in the interest rate. So far as inflation is concerned, the average Consumer Price Index …

  With the monetary policy having been announced by the State Bank of Pakistan, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has expressed their concern. The president of the FPCCI, Mr. Shaukat Ahmed was of the opinion that keeping the policy rate unchanged was not seen as a measure taken to implement policy rather it is an act of escapism; a means by which the necessary measures …

  In the last Monetary Policy decision, discount rate has been maintained at 10 percent against expectations that interest rate will reduce at the back of reduction in CPI, average CPI recorded at 8.6 percent in FY14. With declining trend of inflation and projections of SBP for single digit inflation, discount rate is expected to reduce further. For FY15, CPI is expected to remain between 7.5 percent and 8.5 percent. …

  Cement export to Afghanistan declined by 58 percent Despite earnest support to Afghan economy besides offering tariff free transit trade, the export of different commodities required for infrastructure development are on the decline to such an extent that the export of cement, the basic need for development, has declined by 58 percent to Afghanistan. Although the reasons for declining exports are being attributed to the withdrawal of NATO forces …

  Textile sector hit hard due to high interest rate, electricity, gas outages High interest rate, political instability, deteriorating law and order situation, frequent power and gas outages and high power and gas tariffs are not only hindering growth of investment but also putting an additional burden on the country’s industrial sector apart from squeezing the gross margins of industries. In Pakistan lack of capital is a major obstacle in …

  It is often said that the fiscal and monetary policies of the country have been dictated by the multilateral lenders i.e. International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. This statement is partly correct and partly wrong. Since the lenders give money they also want to ensure its return as per agreed schedule. Therefore, they have a major say in the formation of these two critically important policies. However, …

  In the quickly transforming commercial world, houses are no more just places offering shelter to mankind but it is becoming a serious issue to meet the affordable housing due to the changes in the traditional economic base of communities, population increases, changes in the number of units in the housing stocks, and the rising costs of new construction. In the altered situation, houses have become more and more significant …

  80 percent population in Pakistan is unbanked, says Nadeem Husain, CEO of Tameer Microfinance Bank Although the banking sector in Pakistan has grown on appreciably sound footings on the back of the best regulatory guidelines by the State Bank of Pakistan, however, there still are tremendous opportunities for growth especially in rustic life of the country. It is said that 80 percent population is still un-banked in Pakistan which …