Egging on the IMF
Is populist leader Imran Khan’s recent letter to the IMF a malicious ploy to push a cash-starved Pakistan on the brink of default? Or is it an earnest attempt to…
Govt’s quest for FDI: the way forward
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been crucial in supporting developing economies to participate in global trade by facilitating the flow of capital, talents, and knowledge. The flow of foreign capital…
COP28: an oasis?
COP28 was held in Dubai from November 30 to December 13, 2023 to make substantial progress on the Paris Agreement and negotiate many vital issues to mitigate and adapt to…
The 80/20 rule for maximising foreign exchange earnings
Pakistan’s economy has been facing a number of challenges in recent years, including low growth, high inflation, large fiscal and current account deficits, and declining foreign exchange reserves. Despite various…
Global economic crisis and Neoliberalism
‘The global multilateral economic system has been stress tested twice this century. The first time was with the 2008 global economic meltdown; the second – with the COVID-19 pandemic. And…
Serious debt distress facing developing countries
Many of the developing countries are net importers of oil whose price has been rising, only recently to a seven-year high of above US$ 90 per barrel. A February 4…
CPEC — the engine of our growth
Fiftyone memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with an initial 46 billion dollar envisaged investment were signed in April 2015 during Chinese President Xi’s visit to Pakistan when Nawaz Sharif was the…
SDR allocation of $650bn – important but inadequate
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved allocation of US$650 billion, which is worth 456 billion of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) – a reserve asset that recipient countries could convert into…
Tabdili? What Tabdili?
The Prime Minister is the only change that seems to have happened to Pakistan since the advent of the PTI government which came in riding Imran Khan’s catchy slogan of…
Hot money — the giant killer
Over the years, persistent low investment rate is a worrying sign for Pakistan, and it has become challenging to compete with the emerging and developing economies, which are growing with…
