Kingdom come
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But only if everything goes right
On the list of unfortunate economies that markets think might soon follow Sri Lanka into debt default and economic crisis, Pakistan sits near the top. It relies heavily on imported food and energy. As commodity prices have soared, its current-account balance has widened and hard currency has drained away. In the past year, Pakistan’s foreign-exchange reserves have shrunk by more than half, to just over $9bn, about six weeks’ worth of imports. Its currency, the rupee, has lost 24% of its value against the dollar in 2022. Many reckon that a crisis is inevitable.
Not Murtaza Syed. A former employee of the International Monetary Fund (imf) now serving as acting head of Pakistan’s central bank, Mr Syed believes the country is well equipped to survive its current troubles. It is thanks only to lazy markets’ unwillingness to take a nuanced view of individual countries’ circumstances that Pakistan finds itself lumped in with other, more endangered economies
On the list of unfortunate economies that markets think might soon follow Sri Lanka into debt default and economic crisis, Pakistan sits near the top. It relies heavily on imported food and energy. As commodity prices have soared, its current-account balance has widened and hard currency has drained away. In the past year, Pakistan’s foreign-exchange reserves have shrunk by more than half, to just over $9bn, about six weeks’ worth of imports. Its currency, the rupee, has lost 24% of its value against the dollar in 2022. Many reckon that a crisis is inevitable.
Not Murtaza Syed. A former employee of the International Monetary Fund (imf) now serving as acting head of Pakistan’s central bank, Mr Syed believes the country is well equipped to survive its current troubles. It is thanks only to lazy markets’ unwillingness to take a nuanced view of individual countries’ circumstances that Pakistan finds itself lumped in with other, more endangered economies
Pakistan may be able to avoid a full-blown economic crisis
But only if everything goes right
www.economist.com