Pakistani Economic Stress Watch

[ArjunPandit]

Well sovereign is the least active field, the people who go there are not the brightest. Anyways paki debt won't be traded on the basis of creditworthiness

[kit]

If we remove the noise from signal, pakis are saying that they will give the money from IMF to cheenis for CPEC (it doesn't matter less or more).(it doesn't even matter if the loan approval would be delayed by 3 months or 6months, pakis need money to pay cheenis- schedule gaya bhaad mein.)

So they are going to take the US tax payer money through IMF and gift it to cheenis for CPEC. Let's see if US is going to accept that.

If US doesn't accept and force IMF not to give aid to pakis, it means, US is really serious about breaking cheen. On the contrary, if they approve, that means, US is either naieve or they are no longer the super power they used to be.

Quite right on that ..this is something India should watch for ..does the US walk its talk ? or is are they just counting their last days while Emperor Trump fiddles around ?

[kit]

India should go all out in targeting and making the Pakistani exports noncompetitive. Only if textile sector is rendered ineffective you will have lakhs of aam abduls unemployed and on the streets. Wish we could do this but our Dharmic DNA renders us incapable of being ruthless.

what dharmic DNA ? Some of leaders can very well do it despite professed notions ..there is no dharma in present politics where war is going on in more than half the countries of the world proxy or otherwise

[menon s]

India should go all out in targeting and making the Pakistani exports noncompetitive. Only if textile sector is rendered ineffective you will have lakhs of aam abduls unemployed and on the streets. Wish we could do this but our Dharmic DNA renders us incapable of being ruthless.

what dharmic DNA ? Some of leaders can very well do it despite professed notions ..there is no dharma in present politics where war is going on in more than half the countries of the world proxy or otherwise

The best way, is for India to buy Pakistani made sugar. Already there the cotton crop is getting replaced by Sugar plantations. The quality of cotton is fallen to the degree where they import cotton to make white shirts etc. Without cotton, their exports will go south.

[yensoy]

The best way, is for India to buy Pakistani made sugar. Already there the cotton crop is getting replaced by Sugar plantations. The quality of cotton is fallen to the degree where they import cotton to make white shirts etc. Without cotton, their exports will go south.

Thank you sir, this is exactly what I have been saying all along! Instead of water-stressed states of South India fighting with each other to grow this low value commodity product, we should be procuring it from Pakistan. They can spend the remainder of their IWT "liquid" proceeds on growing sugarcane for us, that way we get to have the cake and eat it too, at a very low cost to us while depleting their ecological resources. (besides we don't really need so much sugar in India but that is an argument for another day...) We should be growing high value/export oriented agri-produce and employ more in the food processing industry instead.

[uskumar]

UAE to extend $6.2bn cash, oil and investment package to Pakistan

UAE and Saudi are giving $6.2 B in loans and differed oil payment. one wonders what they are getting in return.

[Bart S]

UAE to extend $6.2bn cash, oil and investment package to Pakistan

UAE and Saudi are giving $6.2 B in loans and differed oil payment. one wonders what they are getting in return.

Not their money back and certainly not with interest

Pakis will get sucked into more Ummah stupidity and have to do petty stuff to lick the boots of the gulf royals as and when they want it, but unfortunately the Pakis managed to con them again and true to form they have learned nothing from being screwed over by Pakis in the past.

From an Indian perspective, while it is disappointing that the gulf royals continue to bankroll them despite out outreach, on the plus side, this only means that the Pakis put off reform further and get even more mired in economic quicksand.

[menon s]

the saudi money comes with 3.4% interest. and uae charges 2.8%.

[Arima]

dont Pak have enough oil to take care of domestic need???

[A Deshmukh]

the saudi money comes with 3.4% interest. and uae charges 2.8%.

no Islamic banking (interest free lending) for their brothers !

[SBajwa]

The best way, is for India to buy Pakistani made sugar. Already there the cotton crop is getting replaced by Sugar plantations. The quality of cotton is fallen to the degree where they import cotton to make white shirts etc. Without cotton, their exports will go south.

Thank you sir, this is exactly what I have been saying all along! Instead of water-stressed states of South India fighting with each other to grow this low value commodity product, we should be procuring it from Pakistan. They can spend the remainder of their IWT "liquid" proceeds on growing sugarcane for us, that way we get to have the cake and eat it too, at a very low cost to us while depleting their ecological resources. (besides we don't really need so much sugar in India but that is an argument for another day...) We should be growing high value/export oriented agri-produce and employ more in the food processing industry instead.

Land mass of India is made to grow cash rich fruits and vegetables only. Grains and Sugarcane should not be grown at all!

[sanjaykumar]

It is our culture to grow golden wheat and also rice.

[yensoy]

It's not that we give up growing grains or sugarcane cold turkey. It's just that we decrease some fraction of the acreage of sugarcane or other water/fertilizer intensive crops which can be purchased cheap from outside, especially those crops for which we end up with MSPs to the farmer anyway. Instead focus on higher value horticultural produce, legumes (dal), and provide more opportunities to rural citizens via food processing including cold chain. Also emphasis on organic and sustainable agriculture.

Yes we are a cereal oriented culture, and for food security it will be important to continue to produce vast amounts of rice, wheat and hopefully other grains which we have forgotten.

[kancha]

[menon s]

[anupmisra]

Debt stocks hit record Rs 26.4 trillion mark

The country's total debt (domestic and external) stocks continue to increase reaching all-time high of Rs 26.4 trillion at the end of November 2018 owing to rising fiscal imbalance. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Monday revealed that the federal government's total debt stocks recorded an increase of 9.25 percent during first four months (July-Nov) of this fiscal year (FY19), mainly due to higher fiscal deficit followed by slow revenue collection.

During the period under review, domestic debt increased by 21 percent, while external debt stocks rose by 17 percent.

However, central government's external debt excludes the IMF loans to Central Bank for balance of payment support, foreign exchange liabilities and includes the IMF loan for budgetary support.

https://fp.brecorder.com/2019/01/20190108437870/

[Vips]

3:25 onwards, China is ready to offer financial help and loan to Pakistan only at interest rate of 8%

[Neshant]

Debt stocks hit record Rs 26.4 trillion mark

They are going to need the Prince of Nigeria soon to bring in additional revenues.

This at a time when the world e-KHAN-omy looks like its about to have a repeat of 2008 within a year or two.

[Vips]

Finance Ministry officials allegedly involved in file tampering.

Some officers of the Ministry of Finance have allegedly tampered with an official file that is being prepared on the directions of a cabinet body to determine the quantum of contingent liabilities, which have already reached Rs1.3 trillion by September 2018.

Budget wing officials have allegedly removed a dissenting note of the Debt Policy Coordination Office of the finance ministry, officials in the ministry told The Express Tribune. The debt office penned the note in response to observations made by the budget wing on the nature of contingent liabilities that should be included in an ongoing in-house exercise.

The incident took place in the last week of December and came to the knowledge of the debt office when the file was returned to it for further deliberations, they added. However, the original note is still part of the debt office record.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet had directed the finance ministry to prepare a position paper on the status of the contingent liabilities. The contingent liabilities are not direct responsibility of the federal government but are backed by the sovereign guarantees.

The contingent liabilities stood at Rs1.253 trillion as of end September, according to the finance ministry. These include Rs1.2 trillion guarantees in the domestic currency and Rs59 billion in foreign currency.

However, the Rs1.3 trillion guarantees do not reflect the full picture, as there are certain contingent obligations that are not recorded in the Ministry of Finance. In order to address this issue, the ECC had directed it to reconcile the data.

Finance Minister Asad Umar wanted full disclosure of the contingent liabilities, whether they are explicit or the implicit guarantees, to ensure transparency and analyse their fiscal implications, said finance ministry spokesman Dr Najeeb Khaqan.

The debt office prepared a draft position paper in light of the definition of guarantees given in the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act of 2005. The file was then forwarded to the finance secretary who sent it to the budget coordination wing.

The wing raised certain observations like the debt office was not fully reflecting the liabilities position and there was also a need to include losses incurred by state-owned enterprises like Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Steel Mills, said sources. The budget wing also wanted the quasi-fiscal operations to be included in contingent liabilities.

The sources said that the debt office did not endorse this position and wrote a dissenting note while referring to the FRDL Act. The “Guarantees include any obligation undertaken to make payment in the event of profit of an undertaking failing short of the specified amount”, according to definition of guarantees given in the FRDL Act of 2005.

Subsequently, the dissenting note was removed from the file, the sources added. The purpose of removing the dissenting note could not be ascertained.

If the government includes all the implicit and explicit types of contingent liabilities, the quantum of total liabilities may even jump to over Rs2.6 trillion, the sources added.

The matter of tampering the file had been brought to the knowledge of the office of the finance minister and additional secretary finance budget but no action has been taken against the responsible officers, informed the sources.

However, when The Express Tribune contacted the finance ministry for a version it decided to investigate the matter. “The matter was thoroughly looked into at the highest level and no evidence of any tampering or misplacement of any note was found,” claimed the ministry in its official response. It added that the Finance Division works in a very professional manner and such instances neither occur, nor would be tolerated.

The Debt Policy Coordination Office has been setup under the FRDL Act and it directly works under the supervision of the finance minister. Under the law, it should consist of three directors out of whom two directors shall be from the private sector and one of the directors shall be designated as director general.

However, there is only one director currently serving in the debt office and the position of the director general remains vacant.

One of the functions of the debt office according to section 13 of the law is to “provide consistent and authenticated information on public and external debt and government guarantees including total guarantees outstanding”. (Yeah right that is going to happen in pakistan )

The budget wing also desired that the debt office should collect the data of contingent liabilities from other government departments and get it verified. But this is not the mandate of the debt office and this function can only be performed by either the budget wing or the corporate affairs wing of the finance ministry.

Seems the paki ministers got bitch slapped by the IMF for trying to get concessional loans by showing cooked figures and are now trying to find bali ka bakraa and halal a few low-level bureaucrats for that

[Vips]

Pakistan has stopped taking loans from its Commercial Banks a there is no valid means to do so. It now exclusively relies on loans from State Bank of Pakistan which can give loans without any limit and does so by printing currency notes 24x7x365

[Vips]

Divided house: Asad Umar faces party pressure ahead of mini-budget.

Finance Minister Asad Umar says that the upcoming finance bill will not impose any new taxes and will be focused on ensuring ease of doing business and incentivising savings, which will subsequently translate into investments. Addressing businesspeople during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Saturday, he announced that the mini-budget will be unveiled on January 23.

Meanwhile, the new finance bill is being unveiled amidst the first serious challenge to Umar’s position as the government’s sole economic wizard.
According to sources, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen’s desire to undermine the finance minister has further complicated the economic decision-making. Because of this, Prime Minister Imran Khan is getting conflicting advice, undermining prudent and smooth decision-making at a difficult economic juncture, the highly placed sources told The Express Tribune.

Tareen, with the help of likeminded people, tried to corner Umar during two recent meetings presided over by the prime minister, claimed the sources.

These two sessions were also attended by current and former officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of Pakistani origin and close friends of Prime Minister Imran. The overall atmosphere of these meetings remained tense, according to one insider.

Masood Ahmed, former director for Central Asia and the Middle East of the IMF, Reza Baqir, who is IMF’s Resident Representative in Egypt, Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi, and Samba Bank Chairman Shujaat Nadeem, were among the participants.

The meetings had been held with a view to review and formulate the economic policies during the PTI government’s tenure, particularly the future line of action in its relations with the IMF.

Jahangir Tareen and Masood Ahmed did not respond to the queries sent by The Express Tribune.

The sources said that Tareen was not happy with the management of the economy and he wanted the government to change the course. The sources said Tareen also wanted to get his favourites appointed at key posts in the economic affairs ministries . They said he was backing the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and wanted a new governor of the State Bank of Pakistan of his choice . Tareen also had issues with Umar’s subsidies policies, they said.

Pakistan faces some serious external sector challenges in the short to medium term and has engaged the IMF to seek a bailout package. The talks with the IMF have so far remained inconclusive due to harsh conditions imposed by the fund . The government has managed to get a breathing space so far by securing financial assistance commitments from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China.

After his disqualification by the Supreme Court, Tareen does not hold a formal office in the party but is regarded as among the most influential persons. But the sources said that it was difficult that Umar would budge.

The sources said that Masood Ahmed advised the prime minister to take a clear line of action on the IMF issue. Tareen, who apparently was earlier in favour of preparing an alternative plan instead of going to the international donor, has lately started supporting the IMF programme. The sources said Tareen had arranged two meetings of Ahmed with the prime minister.

During a meeting of the Economic Advisory Council in November last year, Tareen had backed the proposal to prepare an alternative plan, said the sources.

As a result of these meetings, Prime Minister Imran asked Umar to come up with his five-year economic plan at the earliest and showed his annoyance over a delay in taking a decisive policy line, the sources said. But uncertainty still remains on the economic front even after these interactions, as Umar is unlikely to come under pressure as a result of events orchestrated by Tareen, said the sources.

When contacted, Iftikhar Durrani, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Media, said that no formal meeting took place between the prime minister, Umar, Tareen and others on the issue of the economy in the outgoing week. “If any informal meeting took place, I was not aware of it,” said Durrani.

Former finance minister Dr Miftah Ismail on Saturday said the prime minister should take a clear line on the IMF programme after holding another closed-door meeting with Umar and Tareen.

The business community has also started complaining about the delay in taking certain decisions. Against this background, the finance minister visited the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The minister has taken a position that the government would enter into an IMF programme only when it is in the interest of the country (as if beggars can be choosers) and the government can deliver on what it agrees with the fund.

The sources said that Umar is said to have told the PM that he would make his own plan and there would not be any change in his direction. Umar is now expected to unveil the five-year ‘homegrown’ economic plan in the National Assembly on January 23.

The finance minister also addressed businessmen at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in Karachi.

Talking about excessive taxes and utility bills, he said the way previous governments had dealt with the economy had made things worse. He said the powers of the FBR to issue overnight statutory regulatory orders (SROs) about duties would be withdrawn and changes in taxation policy would be subject to parliamentary approval.

Sharing plans made by the government to boost investments, Umar said a Pakistan Board of Investment office was being set up in the Prime Minister Office and the meetings would be chaired by the premier.

The finance minister lamented that Pakistan’s saving rate was the lowest in the world, which ultimately meant there was no money for investment. He said the government was working to change this pattern by incentivising investments and discouraging extravagant consumption.

He said people were seeing loans coming into the country, but in the next phase, they would see investments coming from abroad.

Umar lamented that the previous government had accumulated debt worth Rs 2,000 billion to Rs 3,000 billion on account of duty drawback of taxes, drawbacks of local taxes and levies and sales tax refunds to the private sector.

“After discussing with stakeholders, we have come to a conclusion that the government will issue one-third of the cash payment, while the rest will be paid through negotiable instruments by February 15,” he added (exporters have already opposed this move as all instead of cash they get lollipop of promisary notes payable in the future) . He said the authorities were working on a policy to ensure that the central bank deals with such issues.

[Aditya_V]

Hmmm why is this?

Pakistan to shelve major CPEC power project

[uskumar]

Saudi Arabia joins One Belt China corridor, announces $10 billion project in Pakistan

Saudi's(and UAE's) help to cpec is becoming really annoying.

[Neshant]

They are in fact undermining China which spent all that money on setting things up only to have Saudi arabia grab the only (potentially) profit making activity in the entire OBOR route. i.e. crude import, refinery.

China wanted its own oil companies like Sinopec instead of Saudi Arabia doing that.

Everyone is talking big numbers but lets see what if anything gets built.

[Shanmukh]

Survey finds confidence in Pakistani economy to be the lowest in all of South Asia.

https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/201 ... in-region/

Commenting on the findings, ACCA Pakistan head Sajjeed Aslam said, “Despite overall confidence in South Asia holding up better than elsewhere in the world, economic sentiment in Pakistan is now at its second-lowest level since the GECS series began in 2009.”

In short, they are nearly at the same state as at the beginning of the Global Banking Crisis .......

[VKumar]

Whenever Pakistanis want to hide they use the term South Asia

[nachiket]

It is even more amusing that overall confidence in South Asia is amongst the highest despite the pakis dragging it down. So the other countries, mainly India must be doing extraordinarily well to pull the whole region up.

[arun]

Whenever Pakistanis want to hide they use the term South Asia

Besides for purposes of hiding which you have correctly pointed out, the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan resorts to use of the term South Asia or Sub – Continent or very rarely Indian Sub-Continent, as that establishes Indian dominance of the region, whenever they want to sponge off India’s hard work and take credit for India’s efforts.

Consider the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi’s tweet of Jan 7, 2019. Here in an attempt to sponge off India’s efforts in Australia, Imran Khan Niazi termed the Indian Cricket Team as “Sub Continent Team” by tweeting “Congratulations to Virat Kohli and the Indian cricket team for the first ever win by a subcontinent team in a test series in Australia” (Clicky Tweet). Funnily this sly attempt by the Islamic Republic at appropriating India’s sporting victory was lauded by a number of misguided Indian’s for being supposedly a sportsmanly desire for peace despite Imran Khan Niazi putting out no such “Sportsmanly” tweet for South Africa winning the Test Series against the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan at Cape Town on the same day. For that matter no such “Sportsmanly” tweet for South Africa subsequently white washing the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the Test Series following South Africa’s victory at Johannesburg was put out by “Sportsmanly” Imran Khan Niazi.

[ArjunPandit]

^^i've seen pakis, claiming to be Indian, even claiming from some indian city in US. Americans can't distinguish, but to me the pakjabi is an easy give away

[Vips]

They slyly claim to be from Punjab or Hyderabad taking advantage of the state and city's shared common name in India. Also mention University of Punjab and University of Hyderabad while not mentioning the country name on resumes.

[ArjunPandit]

They slyly claim to be from Punjab or Hyderabad taking advantage of the state and city's shared common name in India. Also mention University of Punjab and University of Hyderabad while not mentioning the country name on resumes.

thankfully axactgate is behind them.

[neeraj]

PSO in dire straits as launch of Rs200bn bond delayed

ISLAMABAD: The delay in the launch of Rs200 billion Islamic bond to rescue the troubled energy sector has put the largest state-owned firm — Pakistan State Oil (PSO) — in dire straits with its receivables going beyond a record Rs364bn.

A senior petroleum ministry official said receivables from the power sector alone had touched Rs265bn as of Jan 18 because of primary circular debt. In addition, a second tier circular debt worth Rs51bn has built up against the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) due to non-payment of LNG supplies, affecting the entire gas sector.

Moreover, about Rs48bn are payable to the PSO by the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) (another bankrupt organisation) and the federal government on account of price differential claims and exchange rate loss.

[anupmisra]

UN cuts 2019 growth forecast to below 4% for Pakistan

United Nations (UN) in a report released on Monday said Pakistan’s economic growth is forecast to slow down markedly to below 4% in 2019 and 2020, after growing at an average of 5.4% in 2018.

According to UN’s report “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019”, the economic outlook in Pakistan is challenging and it is surrounded by significant downside risks.

Pakistan’s economy is hampered by a severe balance of payment difficulties due to large twin fiscal and current account deficits, a noticeable slide in international reserves and rising pressures on the domestic currency said UN.

It highlighted the public debt level was high and around 70% of GDP, with increasing sustainability worries.

The UN envisages regional GDP of South Asia to expand by 5.4% in 2019 and 5.9% after growing by 5.6% in 2018.

https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/201 ... -pakistan/

[mody]

https://m-timesofindia-com.cdn.ampproje ... 20%251%24s

Hehe screws turning. The chinese will start sucking blood by the bottles soon.

[Peregrine]

Pakistan to sell turnaround story to lure investors - Shahbaz Rana

ISLAMABAD: As the world’s most rich and powerful businesses and political leaders gather in Davos, Pakistan will showcase peace in Balochistan on the sidelines of annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meetings.

The four-day gathering of the global elite will begin today (Tuesday) with the theme of “Globalisation 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”. Some important heads of government and state have pulled out this year due to difficult domestic political and economic circumstances, including US President Donald Trump.

This time, no federal government high-up is attending the event from Pakistan, missing an opportunity to tell global investors about the prospects of investment.

However, the Pathfinder Group has arranged sideline events for Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan to highlight peace in the once insurgency-hit province and investment prospects, including in Gwadar. He will be assisted by Corps Commander of Southern Command Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa.

‘CPEC economic zones will help bridge trade deficit of $9b’

The chief minister will address the audience at the traditional Pakistan Dinner and Pakistan Breakfast in addition to participating in the Pakistan pavilion. These events have been arranged by the Pathfinder Group, whose Chairman Ikram Sehgal was elected chairman of the K-Electric board last week.

Former chief justice of Pakistan Justice (Retired) Mian Saqib Nisar will be the chief guest at the Pakistan Breakfast. He will speak about his experience of dispensing justice at one of the most critical times in Pakistan.

This year, over 60 heads of state or government, 1,900 business leaders, over 200 media leaders from around the world and hundreds of representatives from the civil society, young generation, technologists and the world’s top minds are attending the Davos 2019 meeting.

Profitability, not profiteering, can shore up Pakistan’s economy: PM

On Tuesday, the chief minister of Balochistan will speak about economic opportunities and dividends of peace during a session being arranged at the picturesque Shatzalp Restaurant.

On Wednesday, the Pakistan pavilion will be inaugurated at Hotel Panorama for the second consecutive year. The traditional Pakistan Breakfast has been arranged on Thursday at Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère, which will be addressed by the former CJP Nisar and the chief minister of Balochistan.

On the same day, Pakistan Lunch will take place, where an open dialogue will be held with the former CJP. Unlike last year, when personalities like Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and then prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi attended the event, this year very few Pakistanis are attending the gathering.

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Dr Sania Nishtar will participate in the WEF sessions this year again. Chinoy has at least three sessions at the WEF platform. On Tuesday, there will be a session on Financial Innovation for Global Health, to be participated by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair William H Gates III, and Heartfile Pakistan Founder and President Dr Sania Nishtar, who has recently been appointed chairperson of the Council on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On Wednesday, the two-time Academy Award winning film director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy will shed light on her latest documentary, ‘Freedom Fighters’, an inspiring story of three Pakistani women taking a stand against violence at the hands of men. The session will be moderated by Kumi Naidoo, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, the United Kingdom and a young global leader.

Chinoy will also participate in a session titled ‘Speaking out under Threat’, which will highlight the plight of activists, artists and professors facing online to physical harassment.

On Thursday, she will participate in a third session titled “Return of the Strongman”. According to the Freedom House Index, 2018 marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in political freedom. How are authoritarian forms of governance shifting prospects and pathways of global governance?

The topics for discussion will be politicisation of business and investment, societal cohesion and public discourse, succession and election horizons.

On Wednesday, there will be a session on the “Global Value Chains: Race to the Top”, which will highlight the issue of linking developing economies with the global value chain. Abid Butt, Chief Executive Officer of e2e Supply Chain Management, Pakistan – a young global leader, will participate in the discussion.

There will be a session on day one on the “Strategic Outlook on South Asia”, which will be participated by Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of Afghanistan. The theme of the session is to highlight the potential of the region that accounts for 21% of the world’s population, yet intra-regional trade accounts for less than 5% of their overall trade.

Raghuram G Rajan, former central bank governor of India, will also speak along with KP Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal.

Cheers

[Bart S]

Pakistan to sell turnaround story to lure investors - Shahbaz Rana

This time, no federal government high-up is attending the event from Pakistan, missing an opportunity to tell global investors about the prospects of investment.

However, the Pathfinder Group has arranged sideline events for Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan to highlight peace in the once insurgency-hit province and investment prospects, including in Gwadar. He will be assisted by Corps Commander of Southern Command Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa.
These events have been arranged by the Pathfinder Group, whose Chairman Ikram Sehgal was elected chairman of the K-Electric board last week.

Former chief justice of Pakistan Justice (Retired) Mian Saqib Nisar will be the chief guest at the Pakistan Breakfast. He will speak about his experience of dispensing justice at one of the most critical times in Pakistan.

LOL Paagal Sehgal is not only running this idiotic PR effort, but he is now the chairman of the electricity utility And CJP Dam Squib will be there on yet another all expenses paid foreign junket.

I don't think even the Pakis are stupid enough to think that any economic benefit will come of it. Its just another way for people in the good books of the Army/ISI to get some R&R time and get their hands on some of the money looted from their citizenry and donors.

[yensoy]

Diaspora bond to be launched on 31st
https://www.dawn.com/news/1459870/diasp ... ed-on-31st

ISLAMABAD: The government is set to launch a dollar-denominated diaspora bond – Pakistan Banao Certificate (PBC) – on Jan 31 to tap into the international savings of overseas Pakistanis for building foreign exchange reserves.

Finance Minister Asad Umar told Dawn that the certificates would be of two maturities – one of three years at about 6.25pc return and another with five-year maturity carrying 6.75pc return.

These kinds of USD interest rates are a terrible deal for the Pakistani government, and shows their desperate situation. In comparison, FCNR USD rates offered by Indian PSBs to NRI are in the range of 3.61%. If GoI gives me 6.75%, I will liquidate all my holdings and park them in GoI bonds But then again, GoP isn't the most reliable borrower in the world.

Btw, I think there is a typo in the name. It should be Pakistan Bachao Certificate.

[arun]

^^^ 800% Correct.

Check out State Bank of India's US Dollar Denominated rate sheet for term deposits:

SBI USD Term Deposit Rate Sheet

[Kashi]

It should be Pakistan Bachao Certificate.

More like Bakistan dubaao certificate. Because that's what these hare-brained schemes are destined to achieve.

Of course we'll still see Immy or the next flavour-of-the-(army)month making trips to Saudi and UAE to shore up the treasury and the cycle repeats again.

[Vips]

Heh Heh Charsi borrowing from banks the islamic way and hypothecating crown jewels
Check the names of the defualters not returning money including Engro and Fauji fertilisers