ISLAMABAD: The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APPC) on Friday endorsed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 4.8 percent growth forecast for the upcoming fiscal year (2021-22) developed by the Planning Commission. Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said, “This reflects the strength of growth momentum in the economy, while maintaining strong fundamentals”. However, […]
GDP
Green indicators for GDP growth rate?
Amid the emerging differences in figures regarding GDP estimates and indicators, the National Accounts Committee recently announced growth rates that ironically increased the controversy surrounding the same. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had initially estimated rates at 2.5 percent and 1.5 percent respectively in contrast to the […]
GDP shocks in FY21 could surprise even more
Senior analyst on investment Hamza Kamal has said that Pakistan’s economic growth for the financial year 2021 is expected to be 3.94 percent YoY, up from –ve 0.47 percent of the previous year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. The expansion, which is the fastest since FY18, is expected to be broad-based, with services […]
PM says NAC estimates GDP growth rate at 3.94%, per capita income 13.4%
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the National Accounts Committee (NAC) estimated the provisional growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the current fiscal year (2020-2021) was 3.94 percent. “GDP growth reflects success of our government’s economic policies while managing Covid-19 pandemic. Our V-shaped recovery is balanced between three major sectors: […]
Fiscal deficit contained at 3.6pc of GDP in 9MFY21
The country’s fiscal deficit has clocked in at 3.6pc of GDP (or Rs1,652billion) in 9MFY21 as compared to 3.8pc of GDP (or Rs1,686billion) in 9MFY20. It translates into a decrease of 2pc YoY during 9MFY21. While the overall deficit remained in check, the government has also managed to record a surplus in primary balance at […]
Pre-Brexit rush by factories boosts UK economy in early 2019
Britain’s economy got a sharp one-off boost in the first three months of 2019, official figures showed on Friday, as manufacturers rushed to deliver orders before a Brexit that never came. Gross domestic product grew at a quarterly rate of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2019 after a sluggish 0.2% in late 2018, in […]
Pakistan and the geo-economics of oil
Within months of taking oath as US president, Donald Trump authorized the dropping of a ‘mother of all bombs’ on a cave complex in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan believed to be in hands of Islamic State warriors. Last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan of an Indian ‘moab’, a nuclear bomb. The […]
Pakistan may receive $6.5bn from IMF as talks conclude today
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are likely to announce a staff-level agreement on Friday (today) as the former has accepted most of the global lender’s demands. Both sides held the last round of talks on Thursday in which the remaining issues of the fiscal deficit and primary balance were […]
SBP to increase SMEs share in private sector credit to 17% by 2020: Shaukat Zaman
SBOSBGroup Head, Forex and Development, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Shaukat Zaman has said that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of any economy and the SBP is working to increase their share in private sector credit from current 8% to 17% by 2020 so that these business enterprises could achieve strong growth […]
Private sector development and economic reforms
Discussion is taking place on the kind of economic reforms needed to boost productivity and economic development in Pakistan. We refer to some literature (Burki 2008, Pakistan Vision 2025) in this article to illustrate it. The industrial sector is in decline in Pakistan. In the recent past, the services sector has attracted more private sector […]