Borrowing from the public
The sovereign remains the biggest borrower in the country, making up more than 70 percent of all banking assets, either borrowing directly, or througg...
Twitter spats and the six day work week
It’s always going to be a busy week when the recently erstwhile finance minister gets into a twitter spat with the incumbent and his...
The futility of exchange rate curbs
The nature of markets around the world is such that a few developments result in a snowball effect
The A, B, C and D of leadership in crunchtime
As the Corono pandemic hits Pakistan at a time of a general economic downturn, it is important for business leaders not to lose track of the role they have to play in this moment
Did Pakistan win the Covid-19 weather lottery?
Ever since the coronavirus pandemic began its global assault in early 2020, scientists across the globe have been working against the clock to find...
The fault in our auditing environment
ICAP can no longer in good faith act both as institutions and regulator
Leadership in business
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch.
Leadership...
Housing Reconstruction: Building Back Better
As of latest estimates more than 1.7 million houses have either been partially or completely destroyed by the great floods of 2022, resulting in...
Will Dar recognise the limits of his power?
For the past 20 years every finance minister that Pakistan has had (with the exception of Hafeez Shaikh) has pushed the economy towards a...
Slow rockets and fast feathers: Why exports fall fast but increase slowly after exchange rate changes
There’s no exportable surplus.
That is the typical response you get from private sector and policy makers alike when you ask why Pakistani exports don’t...
Renewed beginnings
The 2013 National Power Policy was basically two-pronged: eliminate an average power shortfall of 5,000MW and make sure it’s done with tangible improvement in...
Here is why our IT “exports” are not what Umar Saif wants you to think
Most of our IT exports are service based, and even within that a lot are not highly skilled services.
Why bother with ‘targets’?
Of all the bad habits the government of Pakistan has, perhaps one of the worst is the one picked up by the Ayub Administration...
Luxury EVs, forex, and why they could change Pakistan
All over the world, Electric Vehicles (EVs) fall under the luxury category of automobiles. This is a problem because their biggest selling point is...
A decade lost: The fault in our capital markets
The business of an exchange (whether equity, or commodity, or any other) has been completely upended by technology. Trading pits have been replaced by...
