Profit takes a look back at the most significant names that were in the headlines for the year past, what note they ended their year on, and what the year ahead might have in store for them By Abdullah Niazi
Shaukat Tarin
Reza Baqir
In the space of less than an entire year, Shaukat Tarin has managed to become finance minister, be de-jure demoted to Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, win a senate election so he is able to present the upcoming budget to parliament and once again appointed as federal finance minister. Just one of those things would be an event of a lifetime for most people. With the amount of effort the PTI is putting in to keep Tarin in the economic driving seat, it is hard to imagine that there was a two-week period in April where the government was strongly denying rumours that Tarin was slated to come in and up-end Hammad Azhar’s then nascent run at the wheel of the ship. However, eight months down the line Tarin has proven to be a level-headed and consistent guide at the very least. He came in without any big punches, and stayed on course in terms of not interfering in the value of the rupee - much as he did between 2008-10 when he was finance minister in the Gilani cabinet. With a disagreement over why the country is facing inflation still brewing between the Tarin-led finance ministry and the Reza Baqir led State Bank, it is very likely that he will be a mainstay in the headlines in the year to come.
State Bank Governor Reza Baqir has made an impression. The job of SBP Governor is often a bit overstated in terms of workload if not importance. At the end of the day, any governor of the state bank has a few levers on their desk that can be pulled to change policy rates and adjust monetary policy. Because of this, most SBP Governors often go through their tenures quietly doing their jobs without much fuss. Reza Baqir has been different in that sense. He was for quite some time known among finance circles as “Agent 007” - both because he maintained the interest rates at 7% time and again, and as sly allusion to ridiculous claims that he is some sort of ‘agent’ because he worked for the IMF before getting the top job at the central bank. Governor Baqir spent 2020 being begrudgingly admired even by his detractors or the bank’s decisions to slash interest rates and boost jobs as much as possible in a crisis. This year has proven to be the one in which he has come into his own, and made tough calls when he has had to. We can only watch with anticipation what the Governor will do next year.
Zia Chishti The Pakistani origins American CEO of The Resource Group (TRG) and up and coming tech company Afiniti saw a disgraceful downfall after the testimony of a former employee at Afiniti saw him implicated in sexual assault allegations. The harrowing allegations also saw an effect on TRG stock in Pakistan, but it took a while for Chishti to be officially removed as CEO of TRG Pakistan. While his absence has already sent shockwaves through Afiniti, TRG Pakistan stock has managed to stabilise and it is yet to be seen how far reaching the effects of his downfall will be.
2021 RETROSPECTIVE
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