Tag: PEW

Islamabad, April 08, 2023 (PPI-OT): The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Friday said the IMF has always ruined poor countries through its impossible conditionalities. Developing countries should make vigorous efforts to create an Asian Monetary Fund as an alternative to get out of the clutches of the IMF, it said. African countries should also try to create their own monetary fund to tackle problems, said Saifuddin Sheikh, executive director of PEW.

In a statement issued here today, he said that Japan proposed the Asian Monetary Fund during the 1997 crisis, but it could not be implemented due to the opposition of the United States and China’s reluctance, but now the situation has changed. He said that the Chinese economy has become much more stable than in 1997 so it can catch up with the US. Like the IMF, the US dollar has always been used as a weapon therefore many countries are reducing their dependence on the dollar, he added.

Saifuddin Sheikh said that many countries are conducting international trade in their own currencies, while many are leaning towards the Chinese currency. Recently, Brazil and Malaysia have decided to trade in Yuan instead of dollars, which is a big step towards ending the monopoly of the dollar, he informed.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia had decided to sell oil to China in Yuan, which was a big blow to the dollar. He added that after the global sanctions on Russia, it started preferring the Chinese currency and now Russia trades mostly in it. At the moment, sixty percent of the assets of the Russian Wealth Fund consist of Chinese Yuan.

Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia are also getting rid of the dollar. Meanwhile, BRICS countries are deciding to create their own currency, while Saudi Arabia is joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which has worried the United States. Currently, 61 Countries including Pakistan are suffering from financial difficulties, from which many may go bankrupt if their debts of at least five hundred and twenty billion dollars are not waived, he warned.

For more information, contact:
President
Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW)
402, 4th Floor, Gulistan Khan House, Fazal-e-Haq Road,
82-East, Blue Area, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2510375
Fax: +92-51-2802449
Cell: +92-321-5157671
Email: president@pakistaneconomywatch.com
Web: www.pakistaneconomywatch.com

Islamabad, March 21, 2023 (PPI-OT): The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Tuesday said interests of different influential business groups are being promoted putting national interests and interests of the masses on the backburner which is bleeding the economy. Economy suffers if the interests of shopkeepers become more important for policymakers than the interests of the country.

When the priority is to reward the wholesellers, retailers and property sector and the broker mafia, investment in the industrial sector dwindles hitting production, exports, jobs, and revenue, it said. When the private power plants are the apple of the eye of policymakers, it is no wonder that the circular debt exceeds four thousand billion rupees, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President of PEW.

He said that the share of wholesale and retail businesses in the GDP is about 20 percent, but they are neither taxed nor the markets are closed in the evening because they are supporters of a political party. If this sector is taxed then billions of dollars can be saved and if their prices are controlled then the entire population of the country can get relief but this will never happen, he added.

Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that agriculture is a major sector of the economy but the agricultural income is not being taxed properly. He added that apart from the shopkeepers, the real estate mafia is also given special favours. This sector has been given free rein to loot the public and has been made so profitable that no one is willing to invest in the productive sector.

Due to unbelievable profits in the real-estate sector, industrialists are closing down factories and investing in this sector. Dr. Mughal said that private power plants are another blue-eyed sector that is being promoted at the cost of the country. Instead of expanding the tax net. Indirect taxation has been increased while the existing taxpayers are being squeezed which is not sustainable.

He informed that the six-month economic deficit is Rs1.683 trillion and the current account deficit is up to 3.66 billion dollars. The deficit will exceed nine billion dollars after the containers are released from the port. He said that most of Pakistan’s exports are dependent on the textile sector and the floods have proved that this sector is not immune to the effects of weather. Apart from this favourite sector, IT and other sectors also need some attention. If the policies are not subordinated to the interest of the people, then the country will have no future, he warned.

For more information, contact:
President,
Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW)
402, 4th Floor, Gulistan Khan House, Fazal-e-Haq Road,
82-East, Blue Area, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2510375
Fax: +92-51-2802449
Cell: +92-321-5157671
Email: president@pakistaneconomywatch.com
Web: www.pakistaneconomywatch.com

The post Interests of different influential groups being promoted appeared first on Business News Pakistan.

Islamabad, March 16, 2023 (PPI-OT): Pakistani elites consider trade with India as a death knell for their interests. The import of cheap food items from India will reduce inflation in Pakistan and provide relief to the people, but this is not acceptable to the powerful elite. People can be forced to eat onions and tomatoes at Rs250 per kg, but the import of these items from India at Rs40 per kg cannot be allowed because it will hit the interests of our hoarders and profiteers.

The views were expressed by Dr. Hanif Mughal, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek Shadbad while talking to the President of Pakistan Economy Watch, Dr. Murtaza Mughal. Other officials of both organizations were also present on the occasion.

He said that Pakistan is suffering from confusion about India. It is neither considered an enemy nor a friend. America and Europe do not want to offend India, but despite being bankrupt, we are always ready to confront the fifth largest economic power in the world, he added. He said that one will support a failing state against India whose annual exports stand at more than $670 billion.

India will become the world’s third-largest economy in a few years while we will continue to beg for survival, he observed. If we improve relations and open trade with India, our import bill will decrease by billions of dollars, food items and other goods will become cheaper, the back of the profiteering mafia will be broken and the country will develop in many areas including technology.

Trade with India is in the interest of the people but unacceptable to the elite plundering national resources for decades. India has imported 758 billion dollars in 2021. And if relations improve and Pakistan gets even a two percent share in it, we will get a foreign exchange of more than fifteen billion dollars, which will solve many of our problems, participants said.

India does not want a conflict with Pakistan as she is fully focused on development while Indians know that the instability and disorder in Pakistan will also affect their economy. Instead of blood-warming hymns, we should act realistically and set our priorities according to the requirements of the time.

For more information, contact:
President
Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW)
402, 4th Floor, Gulistan Khan House, Fazal-e-Haq Road,
82-East, Blue Area, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2510375
Fax: +92-51-2802449
Cell: +92-321-5157671
Email: president@pakistaneconomywatch.com
Web: www.pakistaneconomywatch.com

The post Trade with India will destroy Pakistani profiteers and hoarders appeared first on Business News Pakistan.