NOT-BY- PROFIT DEBUNkING FOUR MyTHS SURROUNDING SOvEREIGN DEBT RESTRUCTURING

islamabad news desk

WRITINGfor Dawn

Karachi:Foodpanda collaborates with Driving License Sindh for renewal & issuance of learners driving license. foodpanda, country’s leading online delivery service provider, recently collaborated with Driving License Sindh (DLS) to renew the licenses of its delivery riders and employees in Karachi. in addition to renewals, temporary learner’s licenses were also issued. pr

Naval chief visits forward Naval posts; inaugurates hospital at Turbat

Karachi: chief of the Naval Staff admiral Muhammad amjad Khan Niazi visited forward posts in coastal areas and inaugurated a 25-bed hospital at Turbat. The state of the art hospital is aimed to provide quality medical facilities to local populace along with troops.

Upon arrival at Turbat, Naval chief was received by commander Pakistan Fleet Vice admiral Ovais ahmed Bilgrami. chief of the Naval Staff was given detailed briefing on operational preparedness of units and deployed troops. Naval chief interacted with the troops and expressed full satisfaction on operational preparedness and combat readiness. he appreciated the high morale of troops in ensuring impregnable defence of the country in the prevailing challenging environment.

The Naval chief also reiterated Pakistan Navy’s resolve to safeguard the maritime frontiers of the country besides ensuring socio-economic uplift of coastal community as foremost initiatives. pr

Successful crackdown on illegal issuance of SIMs

islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication authority (PTa), in collaboration with Federal investigation agency (Fia), has carried out a successful raid, against illegal activation of SiMs, at a franchisee of mobile company in Wah cantt. During the raid, digital equipment including laptops, Pcs, mobile phones and SiM cards (both active and inactive) were confiscated. a total of four suspects were arrested. Earlier, PTa had filed a complaint with Fia after abnormal SiM sale pattern was observed at the sale channel. it is pertinent to mention that PTa has recently launched Multi Finger Biometric Verification System (MBVS) in December 2022 and the raid is part of its efforts to proactively control the attempts being made to bypass the new system. it is testament to PTa's commitment and persistent efforts in curbing illegal issuance of SiMs. pr

Digital Cooperation Organization hosts 2nd General Assembly in Riyadh

Karachi: The Digital cooperation Organization (DcO) will host the 2nd General assembly in riyadh, Saudi arabia, on the 5th of February, bringing together DcO Member States to discuss strategic directions and initiatives to enable digital prosperity for all nations.

Ministers representing the 13 DcO member states, along with high-level delegations from DcO observers, as well as representatives from guest countries and international organizations will convene for the General assembly, to discuss the state of the digital economy and the challenges facing all nations in achieving equitable global digital growth and development. The 2nd General assembly will be the first-ever in-person meeting of the DcO Member States, marking two years of progress for the international organization which has been founded to help achieve social prosperity and growth by unifying efforts to advance and promote interest in the digital economy.

The monumental event, taking place at the Fairmont hotel in riyadh, will also reflect the qualitative leaps made by the member states in its shift toward a tech-powered economy. Deemah alYahya, Secretary-General of the DcO said: “Digital technologies have immense potential to transform economies and empower groups including women and entrepreneurs with new opportunities, especially that 70% of the new value created in the global economy over the next decade will be based on digitally enabled platforms so it is of critical importance that all nations have the same ability to leverage the power of digitalization to achieve their goals. pr

Nadir Cheema shed light on four myths surrounding sovereign debt restructuring and the fear of defaulting on loans. Despite being feared, almost all governments around the world have indulged in some form of default in their history. The article states that the biggest challenge to sovereign debt restructuring is not economic, but political. The four myths discussed in the article are as follows: Avoiding restructuring is always the best course of action. Access to external credit markets depends on current payments on commercial external debt.

Commercial debt constitutes a tiny fraction of total public external debt.

Loss of financing from international financial institutions after restructuring.

The article concludes that the biggest impediment to sovereign debt restructuring is political, not economic. Policymakers should focus on how to proceed with restructuring in an orderly manner rather than avoid-

Time for 'radical' and fast-paced economic reforms

islamabad news desk

Writing for Business Recorder, Dr Sajjad Akhtar says that for more than a decade, Pakistan's Public Secotor Development Programme (PSDP) has been based on foreign loans, increasing debt. The PKR is printed as a credit entry and mostly spent on construction, with incoming USD used to pay previous debt. However, construction projects often have cost overruns, leading to a fiscal deficit.

The author suggests that in order to stabilise the fiscal deficit, public investments at the federal level in new construction, including grandiose projects, need to be put on hold for the next 5 years. A cutoff point of less than 25% completion for those under construction should be put on hold for the next 3 years until healthy primary surpluses are generated. Instead, domestic funded PSDP should be devoted to increasing education and health budgets, TVET, IT infrastructure, and IT human capital.

In agriculture, the author suggests low-hanging fruit for making it export-oriented in the shortest possible time of 5 years is increasing exportable surpluses of 'fruit' and livestock. The author says that sugar cane is a threat to agriculture, water resources, and the environment and suggests shifting the land from sugarcane production to cotton and/or fruit growing and/or livestock production for efficient use of scarce water resources.

The author suggests shifting to direct taxation, eliminating all subsidies and tax expenditure, in order to increase exports. The author notes that subsidies and tax expenditure are estimated to be PKR 2 trillion and growing and that this reform cannot be undertaken without the cost of elevated inflation and loss of populism. In conclusion, the author calls for 'radical' and fast-paced economic reforms to increase exports, reduce the fiscal deficit, and create a sustainable economy.

To read the full article visit www.brecorder.com