Economic Progress (Part II)

[oogabooga]

Originally Posted by Umais

I love it how they say "South Asia's second-biggest economy".

I was thinking the same thing!

[Metropole]

I don't like the "second-biggest" description. We should say that we're the "biggest" economy among Muslim countries in South Asia.

[Metropole]

LAHORE: State Minister for Finance, Omar Ayub Khan on Friday said the total size of Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) has risen to the level of $135 billion from $62 billion over a period of seven years.

“The consistent growth of national economy is just due to the efforts made by the present government to put the country on the path of high growth,” he said while inaugurating a two-day seminar on ‘Value Addition through Internal Audit’ at a local hotel.

Omar Ayub Khan said country’s economy had been growing at a rate of 7 per cent over the last several years and hoped that it would post the same growth rate this year. He said there is great potential for growth in the agriculture sector especially in the milk production. He said Swiss milk processing firm, Nestle has set up Asia’s biggest plant in Pakistan to benefit from the business opportunities.

“More and more foreign companies are planning to invest in Pakistan due to the enabling environment and a big consumer base,” he said. Auditor General of Pakistan, Muhammad Younis Khan, Conference Chairman Iftikhar A Chaudhary, US Internal Audit expert, John White and Director General Works Audit, M Jamil Bhatti were present on the occasion.

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=49924

[Khanrak]

I wonder how big the black-market economy is

[Metropole]

By Sabihuddin Ghausi

KARACHI, April 14: The government plans to project an economic growth target of 7.5 to eight per cent in the next fiscal year 2007-08 as planners are pretty upbeat on economic performance during last four years when an average of 7.5 per cent growth is said to have been maintained.

An official document, circulated for the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting for a mid-term review of the national economy, declares “prospects for sustained high economic growth in 2007-08 would remain excellent’’ as there are evidences to show a strong growth in domestic and foreign direct investment, strong performance of agriculture, the manufacturing and the services sector.

The NEC was earlier expected to meet on March 27 but its meeting was put off to April 12. But then the meeting has again been put off for an indefinite period. The NEC is the supreme economic body of the government, headed by the prime minister, and includes several federal and provincial ministers and top bureaucrats.It sets target of economic growth for the budget and makes a mid-term review, sometimes late January or early February.This year, the mid-term review by the NEC is far behind the schedule.

Officials do not give any reason for this postponement of the NEC meeting, but obviously the government appears to have been bogged down by the situation created from the Presidential reference against the Chief Justice on March 9 and lat er developments at the Lal Masjid, Islamabad.

Barring these developments, the government is pretty upbeat on its economic performance as the official document reveals that final growth rate during last fiscal 2005-06 is now being estimated at close to seven per cent, instead of initial calculation at 6.6 per cent.

Officials hope economic growth to exceed seven per cent in the current fiscal year 200607. The large-scale manufacturing sector is expected to contribute 13 per cent, agriculture 4.5 per cent and services sector 7.1 per cent.

But the official document also speaks of disturbing trends of inflationary pressures and falling exports in the current fiscal year.

Based on July 6 to January figures, the food inflation is already in double digits 10.33 per cent. The Consumer Price Index in first seven months show an 8.14 per cent rise. It, therefore, proposes the need for a strong vigilance to contain money expansion to contain inflation within annual target limits.

In the current fiscal year, the money expansion has slipped out of control mainly because of bulging current account deficit. The annual credit plan for 06-07 projected current account deficit at $6.3 billion. But by midyear in December, the current account deficit was $4.4 billion and indications are that it would be more than $7 billion at the end of the day.

“The only disturbing aspect of the current year’s performance is export growth which needs to be closely analysed for redressal of its problems as this is an important driving force of the country’s economy, having an impact on overall economic performance. Planners are preparing a strategy to push exports to attain 15 per cent of the GDP by 2013.

The document reveals Rs87 billion utilisation from Rs250 billion federal development programme. The PDSP showed a size of Rs385 billion that included Rs115 billion provincial ADPs. From Rs250 billion federal PDSP, the government released Rs99 billion by December 2006 from which Rs87.4 billion were utilised.

http://epaper.dawn.com/

[imran02feb79]

27 accords, MoUs signed with China
MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN
BEIJING (April 18 2007): Pakistan and China on Tuesday signed 27 agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) in the public and private sectors besides extending co-operation in defence, space technology, establishment of a joint investment company and avoidance of double taxation.

However, Pakistan side remained tight-lipped on issues like setting up of more nuclear power stations and the fate of much delayed 969 mw Neelam Jhelum hydropower project in AJK.

"We are re-energising our existing relations and my one on one talks with the Chinese premier were very constructive and productive," said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, while briefing journalists after his first day of hectic engagements. Foreign Affairs Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan and Pakistan Ambassador to China Salman Bashir were also present in the press conference.

Shaukat Aziz, who was looking very happy after the meeting, said the issue of Thar coal and railway engines did not come under discussion, but he asked Chinese banks to invest in Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline which is a viable project.

Asked if Pakistan discussed establishment of more nuclear power plant, the prime minister said that both sides discussed several issues, but these discussion held within the room.

Fourteen agreement and MoUs which were signed between the two governments are: Co-operation between the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), MoU on construction of cable system between China and Pakistan, treaty on mutual judicial assistance in criminal matters, agreement on implementation regulation for five-year development programme on economic co-operation.

MoU on co-operation between the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China and the Planning Commission of Pakistan, Protocol-2 to the agreement on avoidance of double taxation, MoU on co-operation between the Ministry of Industry and Production and the NDRC, framework agreement between China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Suparco on deepening co-operation in space science technology.

Both countries also inked MoU on co-operation between the Foreign Service Academy and the Chinese University of Foreign Affairs, MoU on establishment of Pakistan Study Center at the Peking University, agreement on economic and technical co-operation, and MoU on establishment of engineering university in Pakistan.

"We had written things as I read before my counterpart said OK and even at some stage when I missed one thing he reminded me," he added. Shaukat Aziz said that both countries would achieve the target of $15 billion bilateral trade in five years as trade and investment relations are becoming more stronger.

He also met with the heads of Bank of China, China Development Bank(CDB) and Exim Bank and invited them to invest in Pakistan. The CDB governor, in his remarks, said that there was a broad range for co-operation between the two countries and a consortium could be formed for joint investments in various areas.

The prime minister was of the view that there was need for close co-operation between the private sector of both the countries, adding that Chinese private sector is very keen to invest in Pakistan.

Shaukat Aziz, who held 40 minutes one on one talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was more than happy with the outcome of the meeting. "Today, I will meet Chinese President and the Vice Prime Minister to discuss further co-operation in different fields," he said.

The prime minister also held a meeting with CEOs of China mobile and telecom operators who showed interest in investing in Pakistan. "We are open economy and welcomes investors, providing a level playing field to both the local and foreign companies," he maintained.

Both Wen Jiabao and Shaukat Aziz also discussed Pak-India relations, international issues like Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea and terrorism. "We are very close in several areas and have similar thing on issues like Iran," he said, adding that both countries would work together in such matters.

Earlier, the private sector of China and Pakistan signed 13 agreements for setting up automobile plant, power, industrial zone, construction of new Gwadar airport dairy development, power sector besides collaboration in agro industry, real estate tourism and other mega infrastructure projects.

The agreement signing ceremony was witnessed by Industries and Production Minister Jahangir Khan Tareen and Chinese Deputy Minister Huang Yue Jin. Speaking on this occasion, Tareen said the private sector has been a major factor in rapid economic growth of Chinese economy and the All China Federation of Industries and Commerce (ACFIC) being the representative body of the nearly two million enterprises could play a very important role in expanding co-operation between the private enterprises of both the countries. He also said that 61 projects have been enlisted in which public and private companies from both countries could participate.

Tareen said that Pakistan has also approved preferential policies for Chinese businessmen investing in such industrial parks, which include total exemption from customs duty on import of machinery and equipment and income tax holiday for five years.

He emphasised that the private sector of both the countries should take advantage of the opportunities available and create win-win situation both for their businesses as well as for their respective countries.

Earlier, the Chinese Deputy Minister of the United Front Work and Deputy Chairman of China society of promotion of the Guangcai programme said that the friendship of both the countries is time-tested. Privatisation and Investment Minister Zahid Hamid, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Akram Shaikh, Navtec Chairman Altaf Saleem were also present during the agreement signing ceremony.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?i...term=&supDate=

[Intoxication]

Prediction by the Economist for the years 2007-11

-Economic policy will concentrate on privatisation, continued liberalisation and attracting inflows of foreign direct investment. Macroeconomic policies will focus on maintaining economic growth while fighting inflation. Efforts to widen the tax net and improve revenue collection will achieve some success.

-Real GDP growth will average 6% a year in 2007-11, driven by private consumption and investment. The economy will remain dependent on textiles, other manufacturing and services. Inflation and a possible asset price correction will be the biggest macroeconomic threats. The current account will stay in deficit throughout the forecast period, owing largely to the continuing deficit on the merchandise trade account.

Predicted GDP Growth Rate:

2007 - 6.6%
2008 - 6.0%
2009 - 5.9%
2010 - 5.7%
2011 - 5.7%

Exchange rate PRs:US$ (av):

2007 - 62.8
2008 - 64.1
2009 - 66.1
2010 - 67.6
2011 - 68.6

http://www.economist.com/countries/P...conomic%20Data

[Metropole]

KARACHI, April 21: The paper value of corporate Pakistan has seen an incredible growth of 10 times in the last five and a half years from Rs343 billion at the fag end of 2002 to Rs3,393 at the close of the market this Friday.

Leafing through the KSE Annual Report for 2002, it is noted that the Karachi bourse was valued at a measly Rs343bn ($5 billion) on Oct 31, 2001. With the listing of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB Pakistan), which added Rs200bn, the market capitalisation of the KSE this week hit the new high at Rs3,393bn ($57.8bn).

Randomly selected stocks which have shown outstanding performance in various sectors since the end of 2002 include: Pakistan Oilfields which was priced at Rs144 on Oct 31, 2002 and is now trading at Rs336; PSO rising from Rs195 to Rs361; Adamjee, which shot up from Rs46 to Rs209.

But two that takes the cake are banks: the MCB stock priced at Rs33 four and a half years ago is now up for sale at the market at Rs286 and the price of National Bank stock closed last Friday at Rs247. A little over four years ago, it looked a little ‘expensive’ at Rs26 a share! The painfully important question is: Who really has benefited from the stock boom. We know that the government did for it owns nearly half the market. Sponsors saw sharp rise in value of their investments in the nearly 7 per cent equity that they hold in their companies.

Financial institutions (banks, DFIs, mutual funds; insurance companies and others) could multiply total assets, by revaluation of their investments. The various market participants turned from millionaires to billionaires. The one standing on the sidelines and watching with awe looks like the small investor.

In the country with population of 160 million people, estimates suggest that not more than 150,000 people dabble in shares. Sadly most of them do so in shortterm, speculation and as Nadeem Naqvi, CEO at AKD Securities famously remarked: “For every one story of great fortune in stock market speculation, there are ninety nine stories of losses”.

But back to the phenomenal rise in stock market capitalisation over the recent years. The interest in the country’s capital market rejuvenated shortly after 9/11 of 2001.That was the ‘tipping point’. Over the years, the market capitalisation has witnessed growth both due to the increase in value of already traded shares as well as the listing of some of the mega stocks.

It would require a bit of calculations by analysts’ to figure out how much of the increase could be attributed to the government’s offer of equity from its fully-held large sized units. Under the process of privatisation, in the previous five years, the government has offered equity in several big units to the public through IPOs.

Some of those include Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC); Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL); Kot Addu Power Company (Kapco); the secondary offering in National Bank of Pakistan and others. Add to that the country’s venture into foreign markets in terms of GDRs including those of Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) and OGDC.

Banking stocks now accounts for highest 31 per cent of market capitalisation. E&P sector, which early last year was the leader has dropped to the second place, but still contributing 22 per cent to market cap.

The KSE index of 100 shares is at the moment doddering at the height of over 12,000 points. But the bulls believe there is still room for it to rise. Without attempting to take the bull by the horn, the bears (of only few are found) offer suggestion to the investor: ‘caveat emptor’ (buyer beware!).

http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.a...4_2007_009_013

[hashamazmat1983]

its good to say that we stand at 17th position in Asia......but turns bad when it appears that there are only 23 countries in the list....

[KB]

you brought up a year old thread just to say that?


btw, I think comparing countries on PPP is ridiculous. It means all the goods and services produced in a country assuming they were sold at the current US rates of that good or service. It is a good way of measuring how well a country utilize its resources but IMO not a good way to measure per capita income or per capita GDP for that matter.

[Edwardes]

The estimates for 2007 suggest we'll hit just over $3000...good job!

[Metropole]

ISLAMABAD, April 26: The government targets national economy to grow at a sustainable level of 7.5 per cent in five years and limit inflation at five per cent, supported by an increase in investment-to-GDP ratio to 22.8 per cent.

Minister of state for finance Omar Ayyub Khan presented a draft summary of the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP-II) to the participants of the Pakistan Development Forum that included foreign diplomatic corps based in Islamabad and multilaterals, like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The PRSP-II would be finalised in July after incorporating input form development partners.

The future economic policy would revolve round this document that has focus on unleashing demographic dividend through skill development and knowledge-based economy.

The draft PRSP-II forecasts that the inflationary pressure will be 6.5 per cent during 2006-07, 5.5 per cent in 2007-08 and will remain five per cent in the coming years till 2010-11.

“Challenges are several, but there are opportunities as well,’’ he said and added that the proposed growth would be driven by agriculture, services, infrastructure, manufacturing and development of big cities.

“This will lead to elimination of core poverty by 2015, which is defined as people with less than $1 a day earnings.” He said Pakistan has made a remarkable progress in its economic performance, undertaken wideranging structural reforms, achieved both macroeconomic stability and strong growth and sharply reduced poverty but the government was cognizant of the fact that there was no room for complacency.

“The government estimates the economy will grow by seven per cent this year, compared with 6.6 per cent of the last year. The spending on poor would be increased from 5.6 per cent now to 6.2 per cent of the GDP by 2009.

“The population living in poverty reduced to 24 per cent in 2005 from 34 per cent in 2001, helped by an average seven per cent growth in the past four years,” he said.

Agriculture sector has been targeted to grow an annual 4.5 per cent for the next five years under the PRSP-II. The government will build road, rail and airports to link the country's ports with industrial cities, reducing transportation cost and time as part of infrastructure development, says the PRSP.

Mr Ayyub said the ratio of investment to GDP was expected to rise to 22.8 per cent by 2011 and per capita income is estimated at $1,253 in four years, from current 20 per cent and $847 respectively. The budget deficit has also been forecast to be reduced to 3.3 per cent from current 4.2 per cent.

Pakistan’s tax revenue is expected to grow up to Rs1.065 trillion in 2007-08, Rs1.255 trillion in 2008-09, Rs1.469 trillion in 20092010, and 1.722 trillion in 2010-11.

There will be a total expenditure of Rs2.601 trillion by 2010-11 against total revenues of Rs2.125 trillion.

The development expenditure will be jacked up to Rs479.5 billion in 2007-08, Rs556.8 billion in 2008-09, Rs655.2 billion in 2009-10 and Rs770.9 billion in 2010-11. The government will increase spending on the poor to 6.2 per cent of the GDP by 2009 from the current 5.6 per cent, it said.

http://epaper.dawn.com/artMailDisp.a..._009_002&typ=0

[Pakia]

The mirage of development

By Dr Sabeena Khan

Road injuries can be prevented by taking proper precautionary measures

Hiding behind the mirage of development we see that Pakistan and Karachi, its biggest city, suffer a lot because of road traffic injuries. How often does it happen that we pick up a newspaper and don’t come across a headline that highlights the dangers of road traffic crashes? Will it be safe to say that a very low rate of investment in RTI’s (road traffic injuries) prevention accompanied by a high burden of RTI morbidity and mortality exists in Pakistan? Public efforts in RTI control are poorly-funded and hence this compares unfavorably with other conditions and with that of more developed nations where government efforts for traffic safety are well funded. Is it really deserving the low priority that it is getting?

Deaths from causes that were commonplace in the early 20th century – such as fatalities among workers in factories, mines, railroads and dockyards – are no longer accepted as inevitable today. Nowadays, many societies do not apply death penalty no matter how serious the crime is. A few years ago, about a hundred deaths caused by the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) mobilised international efforts to arrest the disease; and millions of demonstrators came out on the streets in many countries to protest against a war in their belief that nothing justifies the deaths of innocent individuals. So why is this attitude absent when it comes to road traffic? Recent estimates suggest that the RTIs result in one million fatalities worldwide every year. A vast majority of these deaths involve people who are less than 50 years old. Another 20 to 30 million people suffer injuries that need hospitalisation or expert medical treatment.

Given the current low level of investment, initial investments in transport safety, if chosen with care, could turn out to be extremely beneficial for public health and welfare. If cost effectiveness analyses of these interventions are able to document these high returns they could help to encourage widespread replication efforts. Evaluating the effectiveness of these initial investments in road safety in the developing countries should become a priority for the research community.

Let’s consider the following scenario:

According to the traffic engineering bureau, Karachi, between 1994 and 2000 one person was killed every 14 hours, one person injured every 11 hours and one pedestrian died every 25 hours in road accidents in Karachi. The same survey showed that one motorcycle was involved in accident every 41 hours, one motorcyclist was killed every 82 hours, one car was involved in accident every 37 hours, one minibus was involved in accident every 28 hours

What are our indigenous problems, besides not following traffic regulations? Let’s consider the obvious problems that are often ignored.

Non-homogeneity of traffic exists in Karachi and what is meant by that is, we have at least three or four different kinds of modes at the same time -- which is bicyclists, pedestrians -- two or three different kinds of non-motorised modes -- which is hand-pulled carts -- and within motorised modes we see more busses, trucks on urban streets than you see in the western world and three-wheeled scooter taxis, which you don’t have in the US at all. So, there’s a much wider mix of vehicles and people on the streets in India and Pakistan.

When a truck or a bus hits a pedestrian or bicyclist, and if the driver doesn’t run away from the scene of the accident, he gets lynched; and every second day a bus or a truck gets burnt because it has run over a pedestrian. If a child is hit by a bus or truck, it is set on fire by the crowd. This is ample evidence that the people do not take the existence of accidents as something acceptable. What people are saying by indulging in this violence on the streets is that it’s not acceptable. It’s not acceptable to have your kids killed on the street. The second evidence we have is that road bumps are coming all over the place, even on the intercity roads, so that if a child gets killed on an intercity highway -- and these are not limited access highways, these are open highways -- if a child gets killed on a highway in a village, the villagers go to the local politician, force the politician to get the engineer to get a road bump on the highway.

Roadside vendors have often been treated as illegal occupants of road space by the authorities. Traffic and transport planners too view their presence as unnecessary and an impediment to the efficient movement of pedestrians and motorised traffic. Every now and then, the city authorities launch a drive to evict or shift them to different locations. All these decisions are taken by officials who don’t use the services of these vendors. Given the heterogeneous structure of our society, the presence of roadside vendors is inevitable. Once we accept the fact that they provide legitimate services needed by road users, it is possible to design spaces for them on the road as an integral part of road development plans. Such designs can ensure efficient movement of vehicles and pedestrians without causing hardship to honest hardworking citizens – the vendors.

The rising cost of travelling by public transport within the city and long working hours force workers to live close to their workplaces. A violation of the law thus becomes a pre-condition for their survival. A large number of people living in these units are employed in the informal sector providing various services to the outer areas of the city. However, because of the lack of employment opportunities, people living in these areas have to commute long distances across the city in search of employment. Unlike the traffic in cities of high-income countries, bicycles, pedestrians and other non-motorised modes are present in significant numbers on the arterial roads and intercity highways. Their presence persists despite the fact that engineers designed these highway facilities for the uninterrupted flow of fast moving motorised vehicles.

How to solve these situations?

According to professors Dinesh Mohan and Geetum Tiwari, the traffic expert from IIT New Delhi, what needs to be understood is that some of the theoretical base of road traffic injury control counter measures may have international applicability, but many of the physical solutions may not. There is clearly a poverty of theory. For example, most road safety measures instituted in high-income countries have centred on automobile and automobile occupant. Road and intersection designs are largely based on cars, buses and truck movements. Motorcycles dominate the roads in less motorised countries like ours; human powered vehicles, pedestrian carrying loads and locally designed vehicles. No traffic flow models and computer programmes are able to account for this mix.

So whether you talk about costs or about safety, what is the consumer looking for? Now we have to think what kind of a mass transport system we can provide -- that is flexible and reliable.

A well functioning road infrastructure must satisfy the requirements of all road users.

Pedestrians, bicyclists and non-motorised rickshaws are the most critical elements in mixed traffic in Indian cities. It is this group of road users that needs the services of vendors the most. If infrastructure design does not meet their requirements then all modes of transport will operate in sub-optimal conditions. An efficient and safe road-traffic system must satisfy two design principles:

1) Arterial roads which have more than 30m right of way (ROW) must have physically segregated bicycle/non-motorised vehicle (NMV) paths, which cannot be used by motorised vehicles (especially motorised two-wheelers).

2) Average speeds on roads which have less than 30m ROW must be brought to 20-30kms/h with the help of traffic calming measures.

For the people who continuously park their car outside their homes, start owning 250sq-ft of government land, as they park outside on the street. This space is more than what the poor man occupies for “squatter settlements”. What is the cost of the 250sq-ft flat in the cheapest locality? Let’s say Rs2,000/month. Hence, every car owner who is using the street to park is getting a subsidy from the government.

Internal road safety audit and process:

1) Ensure that the safety director/officer has direct access to top management.

2) Designate one individual as the responsible person for safety authority for the system.

3) Identify the role of the safety director.

4) Include a mechanism for ensuring that all employees are accountable for safety.

5) Establish and review data bases to assist the continuous monitoring of the systems safety programme.

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/dmag7.htm

[Intoxication]

What has this article got to do with Pakistan's economic development.

[zees]

Originally Posted by kbboy

you brought up a year old thread just to say that?


btw, I think comparing countries on PPP is ridiculous. It means all the goods and services produced in a country assuming they were sold at the current US rates of that good or service. It is a good way of measuring how well a country utilize its resources but IMO not a good way to measure per capita income or per capita GDP for that matter.

I Agree - it only depends on Currency Exchange rates

[KB]

No it doesnt.

that is GDP(current exchange rate)- which means all the goods and services produced in a country are added up and the monetary value is divided by the exchange rate prevailing. This measure depends on currency exchange rate.

GDP(PPP or purchasing power parity) means that instead of adding the value of the goods and services and then dividing the total by the exchange rate we assume as if the good or service were produced in the US. That is to say we get the goods and services produced in the country and multiply them by the rate at which the goods or services would sell in the US .

The GDP(PPP) measure is varies with lots of factors. If a certain good or service has great value in your country but not in the US, the measure will show you as a poor country.

If a bike sells at Rs. 1 lac and a car sells at Rs.1 million then the GDP of a country is the same whether it makes 1 car or 10 bikes. But if a car sells at $20,000 in the US and a bike sells at $1,500 then GDP could be Rs 0.9 million( if you make 10 bikes) and Rs 1.2 million if you make a car.

That is why i consider it ridiculous to measure economies on this measure.

[zees]

But, for instance, if $1 = PKR 30, our GDP & per capita will be doubled
.............may b im wrong

[KB]

which GDP measure are you talking about?

There are two measures of GDP: one is GDP(current exchange rate) in which case it will double and the other one is GDP(Purchasing power parity) in which case it won't.

And the above list is based on GDP(PPP) so in this case it doesn't depend on exchange rate directly.

[cactusmaac]

The bolded bit made me laugh out loud.

‘Pakistan to be leading economic power by 2050’

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...4-5-2007_pg5_1

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Ministry of Finance, Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan, has said a latest research by a UK based international firm has indicated that Pakistan along with other three economies would become leading economic power well before 2050.

Speaking at weekly briefing at the Ministry of Finance Dr Ashfaque said Gold Man Sachs had earlier included Pakistan in next 11 emerging economies with a projection that the country would be an economic power by 2050.

In a latest projection released by Grant Thorton, a British Accounting Firm indicates that Pakistan, Turkey , Indonesia and Mexico would become economic powers earlier to the projected date of 2050.

He called this development as success of the economic policies and economic managers of the country who are trying hard to convert the current growth trend into a sustainable economic growth.

He said Pakistan to hold road shows in different parts of the world for flotation of its next bond issue in the month of May. Bond having category of 144-A would be for whole world including Europe, America, and onshore US in-vestors would also be able to hold these bonds.

He mentioned that selection of lead managers had already been completed and City Group, HSBC and Douche Bank, the lead managers, were completing the documentation process for floatation of bond.

He said the size of the bond issue would be decided on last day of the road shows.

Replying to a question on next GDR, he told the media that they have successfully completed the GDR of the OGDCL and preparation for the GDR of the UBL was at an advanced stage. “We are trying to complete UBL’s GDR before the end of this fiscal year 2006-7,” he added.

He told that Pakistan would participate in 40th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank scheduled at Kyoto, Japan during 4-7 May, 2007.

Pakistan’s three member delegation to be headed by Omer Ayub Khan, Minister of State for Finance, and Secretary Economic Affairs and Advisor to Ministry of Finance would also be the part of delegation.

The 21st century is seen as Asian century and the ADB meeting would discuss the economic growth and challenges faced by Asian economies.

At the ADB annual meeting, Pakistan, Vietnam, Philippines and India would give presentation on their state of economies and challenges faced by them. Pakistan had earlier held presentation on its economy in the year 2000, Dr Khan added.

Giving a brief overview of the economy, he said during 1st March to 30th April Pakistan’s stock market recorded increase of 1162 points in its index.

Aggregate market capitalisation of Pakistan’s stocks market increased by Rs 545 billion or 9 billion dollars during the said period, the overall aggregate market capitalisation which stood at 50.4 billion dollars at the start of March increased to 59.4 billion dollars by the end of April 2007.

He mentioned that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves increased by 390 million dollars during this period as at the end of April these reserves were 13.752 billion dollars.

He said exchange rate was also stable, at the start of March 2007 it was Rs 60.7 and at the end of April 2007 it continued to stand at Rs 60.7 per US dollar.

[KB]

:
Douche bank..