Daronomics, a unique brand of macroeconomic policies associated widely with finance minister Ishaq Dar is just as quickly losing its oomph as it had made a comeback. The former finance minister flew back to Pakistan last month after a long exile following his disqualification from office five years ago. However, the determination to bring relief to the masses and claims of having what it needed to keep the dollar in check have now been replaced…
Posts published in “ECONOMY”
Pakistan is on the precipice of a food crisis as malnourishment runs high, especially in flood-affected areas which have been left severely deprived. Children and women have been severely impacted by the shortage of food, resulting in health problems as well. Flood relief campaigns have made the provision of food the central focus but the simple fact of the matter is that there is little produce circulating the domestic market already since most productive lands…
By Mehtab Haider in The News, Nov 29th, 2022ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks linger on as the two sides so far could not strike a broader agreement on a revised macroeconomic framework for the current financial year. It might delay in conclusion of the ninth review and release of $1 billion tranche till next calendar year 2023. Top official sources confirmed to ‘The News’ on Monday that talks with the IMF…
by Tahir Amin in Business Recorder, Nov 29, 2022ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have started virtual discussions for the ninth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. This was confirmed by Esther Perez Ruiz IMF country representative in Pakistan while replying to Business Recorder. The government has shared fiscal data, including flood and related expenditures, with the IMF and a team from the Fund is expected to visit Islamabad soon, the…
A substantial chunk of the non-basmati rice crop has been damaged by the recent floods. 65 to 70 per cent of rice nurseries have been completely washed away by torrential monsoon rains, and those that weren’t completely destroyed are still heavily inundated. Before the monsoon, Sindh experienced one of its worst heat spells: farmers faced an acute water shortage that prevented them from tending to their rice crops properly. After the floods, nonetheless, no hope…
by Ahmad Fraz Khan in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 24th, 2022Politics seems to have gotten the better of the wheat market in Pakistan. Political preferences have been ruling pricing policy for the last two months, and of late, even the position of stocks is interpreted through a political prism. The rulers, impervious to market consequences and beholden to their party politics, are playing an acrimonious blame game that is adding fuel to…
Reuters report, October 9, 2022 UpdatedFinance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday said Pakistan will not seek debt restructuring from Paris Club creditor nations, as he seeks to restore market confidence after a credit rating downgrade. The new rating from Moody’s raised concerns that Pakistan could default on its foreign debt as the country contends with economic turmoil and a balance of payments crisis. “We have decided not to go to Paris Club,” Dar said while…
The past two years have dealt a severe blow to global poverty reduction efforts. As if the Covid-19 pandemic was not devastating enough, natural calamities have further aggravated the situation. According to the World Bank, the world’s poor have received one setback after another since 2020 and global poverty is unlikely to reduce in intensity anytime soon. The World Bank considers it the biggest setback in over a decade which will result in an inability…
By Mehtab Haider in The News, Oct 07, 2022ISLAMABAD: While committing $2 billion in loans for flood-affected areas, the World Bank (WB) Thursday revised downward Pakistan’s macroeconomic projections in the aftermath of severe floods, by lowering GDP growth and hiking inflation as well as worsening fiscal and external deficits. In the South Asian region, Pakistan’s macroeconomic projection remains second worst after Sri Lanka where the GDP growth was projected to go negative. …. The WB…
report in The Business Recorder,07 Oct 2022ISLAMABAD: The Finance Ministry on Thursday strongly contested the Moody’s rating action, which it said was carried out unilaterally without prior consultations and meetings with its teams and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)….. “The rating action by Moody’s is strongly contested by the Ministry of Finance as the rating action by Moody’s was carried out unilaterally without prior consultations and meetings with our teams from the Ministry of Finance…
by Khaleeq Kiani in Dawn, October 7th, 2022ISLAMABAD: Amid strong opposition from the government, Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday downgraded Pakistan’s local and foreign currency and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa1 from B3, citing increased government liquidity and external vulnerability risks and higher debt sustainability risks following the devastating floods. “The outlook remains negative,” said the New York-based rating agency, adding that the floods had exacerbated Pakistan’s liquidity and external credit weaknesses and vastly…