Financial inclusion and chair poli tics - this week in Pakistan’s business and economics twitterverse

IN BRIEF

$4.6 billion:

The federal government has obtained $4.6 billion loans and grants during the first five months of the current fiscal year 2021-22. The federal government borrowed the amount from commercial banks, multilateral institutions and different countries during the July-November period.

The government is likely to revise the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill once again, owing to reservations from different quarters. Sources said that various institutions have raised questions over the draft amendment bill, especially over unlimited powers of the central bank’s governor.

Fatima Fertilizer has confirmed its intentions to acquire Samba Bank Limited. According to an announcement made by Arif Habib Group, a consortium that includes Fatima Fertilizer has publicly announced its intention to purchase majority shareholding in Samba Bank Limited from the Saudi National Bank.

Rs 23.6 billion:

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved the Rawalpindi Ring Road project. The project will be financed under the provincial Annual Development Programme (ADP) while the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) will execute the construction.

Reserves fall:

Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $415 million to $18.15 billion during the week ending on Dec 17. The dip came because of external debt repayment during the period.

The benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) barely inched up in rupee terms during the outgoing calendar year. With only seven trading sessions remaining in 2021, the KSE-100 index has gained just one per cent in rupee terms while the dollar-based return is -9pc.

Shaukat Tarin is set to take the oath as finance minister on Monday ending a period of protracted ambiguity around his role. As Advisor he was unable to chair key meetings or wield executive powers.

The Utility Store Corporation (USC) has not been able to operationalise Point of Sales (POS) machines in all of its outlets due to a delay in the delivery of the machines. However, the USC has claimed that all outlets will have functional machines by Dec 31.

The federal government on Tuesday assigned charge of the Petroleum Division to Ali Raza Bhutta, a BS-22 officer of PAS. He has come in after the removal of secretary Petroleum Dr Arshad Mahmood.

Financial inclusion and chair politics

this week in Pakistan’s business and economics twitterverse

Once again this week finds Profit beating the old drum about having financial inclusion for women. It is a tiring proposition to bring it up again and again, but the issue is also so vital that it cannot simply be ignored. A lot else was going on too in the background, with people being asked why they wanted a job, others going to twitter for advice, and some very smart kids that have some financial advice for you. Ariba Shahid brings you all this and more in this week’s social media roundup.

Aankhon Ko Aankhon Nay Jo Sapna Dikhaaya Hai Dekho Kahin Toot Jaye Na. Puzzled whether to quote Junaid Jamshed or to quote Taher Shah and his masterpiece eye to eye. It’s all in the eyes. The eyes never lie Chico. Okay enough Is this really a thing in corporate Pakistan? If true, then it’s scary. I mean how fragile does one’s ego have to be to think a chair shows how important you are. A person’s spot is a person’s spot. Doesn’t matter if you’re the most important person in the room or not. Bosses need to understand that their employees aren’t servants. Then again, the Urdu word for job is basically naukri and mulazmat, which come from the word naukar and mulazim meaning servants. No wonder this sense of entitlement from some bosses.

My 3 month old nephew said that the stock market is not an accurate indicator of the economy. Whereas my niece said that interest rate hikes don’t work in a cost-push inflationary environment. Kids are so smart these days. Gotta love it. This survey shows you just that.

Eye-to-eye Not-so-musical chair

Smart kids

Take a shot of cough syrup every time a VC says Young population, 220 million population, disrupt, return to Pakistan, or says revolutionise. You’d pass out with liver failure 5 minutes into the monologue because that’s how much these terms are done to death. Zahid does however raise a valid point, if the population is enough of a driving source for investment, why does every startup that makes it big look beyond Pakistan. Why not capture a greater chunk of the local market first. Stop selling the market to be bigger than it is when in reality the population isn’t as tech adaptive and urban as you’re making it seem. Your foreign brought solutions don’t always fit in with all 220 million. Admit it. The sooner you do, the better.

Financial inclusion for women

It’s not easy getting finance if you’re a woman in the country. We’ve established that. We wonder when it will be and when Profit can move beyond such tweets in our social media round up. Our gut feeling tells us that there is still a long way to go. Banking and the availability of financial tools to women are still controlled by an archaic system. We sincerely hope that financial inclusion for women is realised sooner rather than later, especially since it is one of the most important aspects of gender equality. There is no point in banks turning their logos pink for a few days if they aren’t going to take affirmative action to ensure women stop getting the short end of the stick. Until that day, we will continue reminding everyone that it is high time to move forward with financial inclusion for women.

Why do I need this job? To pay for my KFC

Honestly, I don’t know why businesses expect you to have a flowery reason for why you want to do a certain job. Why can’t I just say “to pay for my unhealthy coping mechanisms.” Why does one always have to write made up nonsense like “to challenge myself in a competitive and educative environment.” Why does the world obsess over fancy statements? Fluff is fluff. All it tells a person is your ability to bs your way through bureaucratic hell - which we suppose is something a lot of companies look for in candidates. We need more people like Miroslav to say it like it is.