Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Monetary Policy of Pakistan 2010-2011

In the last week of September 2010, State Bank of Pakistan decided to increase its monetary policy rate by 50 basis points to 13.5% for the period of October-Novemer 2010. Due to various crisis faced by the country the SBP officials are saying that it is necessary to tighten the monetary stance for the next couple of months. According to the current Governor SBP Dr. Shahid Kardar, “The monetary policy stance is formed by the consideration that the effect of continued inflation is substantial and felt by the entire economy. A tightening of the stance is thus called for in full recognition that the difficulty to contain fiscal deficit has resulted in the private sector bearing the full brunt of such an adjustment,”.

According to the SBP momentary policy document, the recent catastrophic floods have serious implications for macroeconomic stability and growth prospects. However, even before the floods, the macroeconomic conditions and outlook were looking fragile. By the end of FY10, inflation was high and the fiscal deficit had risen to 6.3 percent of GDP. Early assessments indicated that these pressures are unlikely to abate in FY11.

Few days before, I had recorded one of the episode of my program "Maeshatnama" on this topic and invited renowned economists Dr. Shahid A. Zia and Mr. Tariq Asmat to share their views on the topic, that what will be the after effects of such stances of the governments on Pakistani economic cycle.

Video discussing the earlier stances of Governer SBP and current policies, plus did the government had any other option to avail in current economic scenario:



It said that the next quarter would be crucial in forming an assessment of the effectiveness of government’s efforts to contain the fiscal deficit and its inflationary borrowings from the SBP and the banking system. There are assumptions that the process of tightening in monetary policy will further continue. Following video is discussing the after affect of such stance on the economy and inflation.



According to the economic gurus, in Pakistan only salaried class pays its taxes regularly, though due to the fact the salary is given after the deduction of the taxes to the employees, what are the benefits of increasing the tax net in country and what necessary steps should be taken in order to fulfill the targets of FBR, is discussed in the following video.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Threats to Self Reliance of Pakistan

Recently there were news about that Pakistani Banks had quitely written off Rs. 50 billion fresh loans outstanding against the borrowers during the last two years and at the same time, Pakistan's total borrowing from World Bank, Asian Development and IMF reaches $31 Billion.

Now seeing such figures one can easily think that on one side we are showing our so-called economic recession and asking for help in terms of loans or donations etc and on the other hand our banks are writing off fresh loans which a very high percentage. According to the figures given by Dr. Khuwaja Amjad Saeed from 1947 to 2007 banks have been writing off loans with the average of 6.8 billion per year but during this "freshly" democratic government this average has reached to 25 billion rupees. Ofcourse, if we have to monitor the companies whom loans have been written off, we still their luxurious lifestyles but on paper who are unable to pay their debts.

Today I am sharing you the program "Maeshatnama" on this topic and it is being discussed by renonwned economist Dr. Khuwaja Amjad Saeed while the program was moderated by Syed Azhar Bukhari and produced by me, Syed Nabeel Tirmazi.

Video discussing how can economy survive while on one hand we are generously writting off local loans and on the hand asking for grants, loans and donations from foriegn banks??



Video discussing role of Supereme Court of Pakistan in this issue:



Video discussing the role of State bank and does it need accountability:

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Interview of Dr. Khuwaja Amjad Saeed in program "Meri Kitab Dunya"

Prof. Dr. Khawaja Amjad Saeed is a versatile scholar having more than 50 years of experience as economist. Written numerous publications and received various awards globally, is currently the principal of Hailey College of Banking and Finance and also serving as Professor Emeritus of Apex Group of Management Instituitions, Pune, India. As I am writing about this legend I am unable to write much about him , as he has been inspiration to many of us related to business, economics and Pakistan ofcourse and even in his 70's he is actively performing his mission and giving lectures worldwide. Recently we had the opportunity to interview him in one of my program "Meri Kitab Dunya" aired on Apna News, about book reading, he shared his precious experience with us. Below are the links of the program, I hope you will like the program and please do comment on the post. The program is being hosted by Rozina Nadeem while the production is directed and produced by me, Nabeel Tirmazi.

Dr. Khawaja Amjad Saeed discussing his thoughts about Book Reading and how it is important to have such trait in grooming one's whole life. Part 1



Dr. Khuwaja Amjad Saeed discussing his childhood memories related to the habit of bookreading and his mission in the field of business education.



The Book reading segment by Dr. Khuwaja Amjad Saeed from his book "Economy of Pakistan"

Monday, October 4, 2010

Stock Market in Pakistan

Stock Market is said to be a barometer for any economy. Kenneth Chang said once, A market is the combined behavior of thousands of people responding to information, misinformation and whim, so in other words we can say that behavior of the market shows the different trends in economy. In recent years, there hasn't been a significant development in Pakistani stock market and so is in the case of economy. Today we are sharing videos on the significance of stock market in an economy and what are the potential opportunities and threats related to it. The topic was discussed in program Maeshatnama on Apna News by renowned economist and ex-executive of LSE Dr. Shahid A. Zia while the program was moderated by Syed Azhar Bukhari and produced by Syed Nabeel Tirmazi.

Relationship of Economy and Stock Market



Importance of Educating about Stock Market to Entrepreneurs



Giving Financial Educational to the investors in Stock Market