Editorial: Pakistan's Economy

Taleem Finance Company Limited

The Chair further directed Ministry of Industries and Production to take immediate action to ensure that relief of 10% on duty has been passed on to the consumers. Specialization in Entrepreneurship and SME Banking and Finance is a unique MBA program which promotes the environment of entrepreneurship. SME financing by banking industry reaches historic level of Rs500bn in the last six months of 2018 due to growth in SME sector and SBP’s policy to accommodate SME sector of Pakistan. Due to this increase in SME financing, there are substantial availability of employment opportunities in SME Finance and Banking sector. Wissam Khoury, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, APAC and MEA at Finastra said, “Corporates are quickly catching up with retail customers and are expecting more from their bank, such as an improved user experience, speed and more innovation.

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The project sponsored by Government of Punjab envisages construction of 535 km of dual carriageway highway sections between various cities in the Punjab province. The NPMC was also briefed on the comparison of daily commodities’ prices in Pakistan with regional countries India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It was witnessed that prices of daily commodities in Pakistan are the lowest in the region.

It was also shared that inflationary pressure especially on basic food items is properly tackled through Saasta Bazaars. The Finance Minister expressed concerns on the increase in the prices of Pulses and enquired about production trend of Pulses in the world. He directed the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to build strategic reserves of Pulses considering the lowest prices of Pulses in the international market. He also directed Ministry of Food Security and Research and Provincial Governments to take creative measures to ensure smooth supply of pulses at fair prices. NPMC was briefed on the sugar prices and its stock position in the country and expressed concerns on the slight increase in sugar prices in various cities.

The Chair was apprised on the stock position of Wheat in the country which is sufficiently available. However, keeping the fresh arrival of Wheat stocks and future consumption, the Chair directed Ministry of NFS&R to workout realistic data on wheat production, in consultation with the provincial authorities to assess the accurate future requirement of Wheat for imports. NPMC was apprised that the prices of 08 items declined, 18 items remained stable and prices of 25 items increased. It was further informed that prices of Garlic (-0.06%), Tomatoes (-0.02%), Eggs (-0.06%), LPG (-0.05%), Gur (-0.0004%), sugar (-0.01%) and Gram Pulse (-0.0004%) have decreased and contributed 0.20% in decline of SPI during the week under review. However, spike was witnessed in the prices of Chicken (0.35%), Vegetable Ghee (0.22%), Cooking Oil (0.23%), Potatoes (0.01%), Wheat (0.16%) and others (0.33%) which contributed 1.30 percent increase in SPI. The KP minister briefed the meeting about the financial performance of the KP government and highlighted about the ongoing projects in KP.

He maintained that government of Pakistan is committed to introduce reforms in various sectors for tackling longstanding structural issues with a special focus on sustainable and inclusive growth. The Finance Minister apprised that the loans for agriculture, production and business development are being disbursed. Is moving away from trickle-down approach and is focusing on bottom-up approach for a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. It was further informed that issues such as fragmented Industries, undue profits by middleman, direct access of producers to markets, and access to capital and financial intermediation are on priority for the government and any assistance of the UNDP in these areas will be welcomed. On the prices of edible oil in the country, Secretary Ministry of I & P informed the meeting on available stocks of edible oil and strategy to bring in stability in its prices. The Chair expressed concerns on the rise in the prices of edible oil and directed Ministry of I&P to expedite the action against the edible oil manufacturers to address the issue of charging higher prices from domestic consumers relative to prices in the international market.

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We constantly support/advise and take suggestions from our Editors/Editorial Board/Reviewers on avoiding any malpractice of publication ethics. • How to enhance financial inclusion through formal and non-formal financial institutions. • How to promote ethics in business since a majority of the academic literature, particularly religious bent literature, seems to be either theologically oriented or superficial and inadequate in its assessment. • How to contribute to a sustainable transformation of the society through socio-economic policies, politics and institutional reforms, and innovation in technology. In most cases, preferable security is mortgage of urban property acceptable to bank along with personal guarantees of owners and mortgagors. The Bank uses this product for medium and long term financing purposes where the Bank acquires the asset required by the customer and then leases it to the customer for a fixed period.

The success of the Islamic financial industry is all the more evident since it came during a period when the conventional financial industry was experiencing a crisis. From the Olympic Village in London to Burj Khalifa in Dubai, shariah compliant investments are making inroads on a global scale. Meezan Bank Limited and Karandaaz Pakistan have jointly launched the Corporate Vendor and Distributor Finance Program aimed at providing growth capital for small businesses in existing value chains in the country.

The meeting was informed that the slight increase in price was due to disruption in the supply caused by rain and fog. The meeting was also apprised on the wholesale and retail prices of daily commodities in the country and it was informed that decrease has been witnessed in the wholesale and retail prices of various items in the last week. Slight increase has been witnessed in the whole sale and retail prices of Potato and Onion which was attributed to the increase in the transportation charges.