• We think the crisis will deepen the schism between China and the US. Last week the US suspended its support for the World Health Organization, which is a United Nations body. It is now (unofficially) claiming the virus is man made and developed in a lab in Wuhan. There were similar claims made by… Continue reading KASB Ray of Hope: The Samoa World
Author: Anum Qudsia Siddiqui
Daily News: 20th April 2020
Good Morning China will contribute $6.3 billion in financing to Pakistan over the next 12 months with all key bilateral partners committing to maintaining their exposure throughout the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme which would remain in effect, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Pakistan’s primary deficit is now expected to deteriorate to 2.9 percent of… Continue reading Daily News: 20th April 2020
Macro Update:Is the economy shrinking by -14% in March Quarter?
▪In the Monetary Policy Statement published today, the State Bank of Pakistan has followed the IMF and reduced FY20 GDP growth forecast to -1.5% from its earlier target of 2.5% growth. If we assume that the GDP had grown inline with the government’s original target of 2.5% until start of March, before the lockdown began… Continue reading Macro Update:Is the economy shrinking by -14% in March Quarter?
Daily News:17th April 2020
Good Morning The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said its executive board had approved $1.386 billion in emergency financing to Pakistan to meet balance of payment need stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic. In a surprise move, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday cut the benchmark interest rate by 200 basis points to a… Continue reading Daily News:17th April 2020
MPS: Monetary Policy Committee cuts interest rate by another 200bps
In its emergency meeting held today, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut interest rates by an additional 200bps to 9.0%, taking the cumulative reduction to 425bps since the past month. The expedited pace of monetary easing has overshot our original estimates whereby we projected a 100bps cut by May20. In light of the anticipated contraction… Continue reading MPS: Monetary Policy Committee cuts interest rate by another 200bps
KASB Ray of hope: Beware of fake news
• There have been attacks on telecom instalments across Europe on the back of rumours that 5G signals cause COVID. In the UK, there have been over 60 such attacks. Maybe someone is deliberately spreading such rumours to stymie Huawei’s rollout of 5G. In any case, there is a lot of dangerous disinformation – some… Continue reading KASB Ray of hope: Beware of fake news
Daily News:16th April 2020
Good Morning Pakistan has been included in the group of countries eligible for debt relief on all principal and interest payments to official bilateral creditors announced by the G20 countries in their Riyadh meeting on Wednesday. The G20 grouping had been urged by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to extend debt… Continue reading Daily News:16th April 2020
Can Pakistan’s economy endure the ramifications of COVID-19?
As of now, it is abundantly clear that coronavirus has upended textbook economics, global stock markets, currency rates, and unearthed massive socio-economic inequality. Unfortunately, according to the United Nations (UN), Pakistan could be one of the countries hardest hit by the economic fallout which this pandemic is ushering in. The report by the UN Conference on Trade… Continue reading Can Pakistan’s economy endure the ramifications of COVID-19?
Daily News:15th April 2020
Good Morning The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Tuesday that the global and domestic spread of Covid-19 has brought an exceptional set of challenges for the country and as the situation is extremely fluid and highly uncertain, the economic outlook remains subdued compared to the pre-outbreak estimates. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected… Continue reading Daily News:15th April 2020
Analysis of SBP’s Quarterly Economic Review
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently released its quarterly economic review, focusing on the developments during 1HFY20. The SBP took note of the positive impact of reforms and measures introduced to stabilize the economy, citing improving economic indicators including CAD (down 76% YoY) and Fiscal Deficit (down 0.4 pps YoY). The central bank, however,… Continue reading Analysis of SBP’s Quarterly Economic Review
