News

Govt to borrow record Rs4.8tr via treasury bills in first quarter

Amid a revenue setback in December and higher expenditure, mostly for debt servicing, the government plans to borrow a record Rs4.8 trillion in the first three months of 2023 through market treasury bills (MTBs). According to the auction target calendar issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on New Year’s Eve on Saturday, it will hold a total of seven auctions beginning Jan 3 (tomorrow) — a

Stocks stage 468-point rally on year-end buying

Share prices rebounded on Thursday as investors scooped up value-yielding stocks. Arif Habib Ltd said the benchmark index traded in the green territory throughout the day as participation from investors remained on the higher side. The stock market witnessed some volatility during the last trading hour, but healthy volumes were still recorded across the board. “The market is expected to be v

The question of privatisation

WHEN I wrote my columns on the six pillars for growth, people pointed out areas I had missed, including privatisation of state-owned enterprises. Since most SOEs lose money, I thought this topic was covered under the pillar of prudent fiscal and exchange policies. Upon further reflection, however, I should have added privatisation as a separate pillar required for growth. Here it is. Before dis

Exporting talent

PAKISTAN is one of the few countries that pushes its top talent to leave their motherland. This has been happening since independence but the year 2022 has witnessed the highest number in the country’s 75-year history. It is estimated that around 765,000 people left Pakistan in 2022, including 92,000 highly educated individuals such as doctors, engineers, computer scientists, business executive

How realistic is the forecast that Pakistan will be world’s sixth-largest economy by 2075?

Will Pakistan be the sixth-largest world economy by 2075? The “Path to 2075”, a paper issued by Goldman Sachs earlier this month, says yes. According to the paper, China will rank first, followed by India, the United States, Indonesia and Nigeria. As a point of reference, the US National Intelligence Council, citing Oxford Economics, predicts that by 2040, India’s economy will rank 3rd, China’s