How not to write an op-ed
Over the years, I have developed a somewhat maniacal habit: every morning, just after waking up, I sift through three or four newspapers, not for news, but for their op-eds.…
How the ADR tax distorts the financial sector
The tax on Advance-to-Deposit Ratio (ADR) was introduced through the Finance Acts of 2021 and 2022 approved by Pakistan’s National Assembly and these provisions are being enforced by the Federal…
Banking on missteps: latest tax policy will distort financial system
One of the more short-sighted fiscal measures recently introduced is the higher tax on banking income from government securities. This tax is directly linked to the advance-to-deposit ratio (ADR), imposing…
Islamic banking: the challenges ahead
WILL our economic and financial system be able to eliminate riba (interest) by December 2027, as ordained by the Federal Shariat Court? If the past is any guide, this time…
The macroeconomics of electricity tariffs
In Pakistan, the landscape of power tariffs is shaped significantly by the framework of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and is directly connected to macroeconomics. Under these agreements, the costs associated…
PSX IPO Summit 2024
The following is the full text of federal minister for finance, revenue and economic affairs Dr Shamshad Akhtar’s speech that she delivered at PSX IPO Summit through a video link…
This crisis is a moment; Part – III
The current business-as-usual model continues to delay deregulation by repeated extensions, issuance of new/amended refinery policies. It will one day improve competitiveness, reduce demurrages and build our strategic and commercial…
Thar coal mine expansion
SECMC (Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company) has filed a tariff petition for expanding its capacity. This is a third expansion. The mine started its phase-I at 3.8 MTPA (Million Tons…
Policy rate and inflation
In the 1970s, economists believed that inflation was primarily caused by ‘monetarism’, which is too much money chasing too few goods. They contended that the only way to control inflation…
‘Worst yet to come’
On October 11, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its biannual World Economic Outlook, said, “global growth is expected to fall from 6 per cent in 2021 to 3.2 per…
