What lies in store?
Like always, next FY Budget too will surely smell rosy. By tying knot with the IMF, the Federal Budget will have nothing much significant to offer because of Pakistan''''s commitment…
Document relevant for policymakers?
The Economic Survey 2014-15 contains, in common with last year, a clear and distinct bias in favour of the government''''s performance making the document largely irrelevant for policymakers. It has…
Battle of the budgets
A Week ago, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the federal budget. A day earlier, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had unveiled its ‘shadow budget’, the first for the party, while the Muttahida…
The PKR debate
On Friday May 15, Business Recorder readers came across a report "Overvalued PKR hurting exports, NA body told". It is beyond one's comprehension why a Ministry has decided to lodge a protest…
The IMF came a calling
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief for Pakistan Harald Finger arrived in Pakistan for the final day of the seventh review and thereafter held a joint press conference with…
Long on rhetoric, short on action
The annual budget should be the means to achieve stated objectives. The government should use the occasion to present its strategic vision and announce the instruments, policy initiatives and institutional…
Budget 2015-16: What can we expect?
There is understandably intense activity before the budget is announced in the Ministry of Finance with all the stakeholders (private as well as autonomous/public) and the tax collecting arm of…
The 4pc challenge
The budget season is here. Like every year we’ll be hearing calls to increase the education budget. By now we all know that the Pakistani state — the federation as…
Health of the economy
A large number of professionals, academics and businessmen repeatedly ask a simple question: what is the real state of health of the Pakistani economy? Who is telling the truth? The…
Confusing privatisation goals
The sale of 609.3 million shares of HBL has been billed as the biggest capital market transaction and second biggest privatisation deal after the PTCL and yet more evidence of…
