Rupee fall benefits expats’ families: Baqir

[fisher1]

Rupee fall benefits expats’ families: Baqir

SBP governor’s comment termed ‘most irresponsible’.

www.dawn.com

LONDON: Remarks made by Reza Baqir, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), about the benefits of currency devaluation for overseas Pakistanis have elicited strong criticism by citizens and economists back home.
At a dinner held in honour of the SBP governor in London by businessman Anil Mussarat, Mr Baqir touched on the issue of the depreciation of rupee and attempted to present it as some sort of silver lining for those overseas Pakistanis who send remittances to family members.
“The families of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan benefit, because the volume of their hard-earned remittances are now increasing because of the exchange rate,” Mr Baqir said at the event on Monday.
“Let me explain the quantum of this. Though some lose out from the exchange rate increase, some also benefit. For example, if in this year remittances are approximately $30 billion — we hope they are higher — and if our exchange rate depreciates even 10 per cent, then it translates to an additional $3 billion reaching families of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan. In every economic policy, there are advantages for some and disadvantages for others,” he said.

SBP governor’s comment termed ‘most irresponsible’

He also said, “Obviously, those who buy imported items are facing difficulties. Those who have the ability to go on foreign trips or buy very expensive imported things obviously will be squeezed. But there are those who have benefited, and those are the families of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan.”
His remarks were recorded by journalists present at the interaction, and a video of his short press briefing went viral on social media. Many users questioned how the governor of the State Bank can praise the devaluation of his own currency.
One user pointed out that devaluation does not rehabilitate economies, but instead raises debt, cost of imports and slows down economic activities.
On Twitter, Uzair Younus, host of a podcast on Pakistan’s economic landscape, posted, “Arguing that a depreciating currency benefits families of overseas Pakistanis is a very weak argument. For starters, these flows represent at most 15 per cent of household income for a small fraction of households, as per PBS. Also, inflation eats into much of the gain experienced.”
“I know the latter because I’m one of the overseas Pakistanis whose remittances complement household incomes. Rising electricity, petrol [and] food prices don’t really leave much to gain. It’s amazing that the central bank governor, usually so measured, would use this logic.”


Commenting on Mr Baqir’s remarks, political economist and IBA’s executive director Akbar Zaidi told Dawn, “It is the most irresponsible comment that any public official can make. It shows how the governor of SBP is pandering to the PTI government’s obsession with overseas Pakistani at the cost of Pakistanis at home in the hope that the few who vote will vote for PTI. Secondly, the SBP governor and deputy governor are both from the IMF and are following simply what IMF wants, i.e. to let the rupee devalue. This is not even spin or intelligent spin. Someone in his position could have done this far better.”
Mr Baqir arrived in London from Washington DC, where he had accompanied Shaukat Tarin for ongoing talks with the IMF. Mr Baqir attended two events, one in London and the other in Manchester, where he was pushed by reporters on rising inflation in the country.
“Inflation is a global challenge in every country. In America, there is more inflation today than 20/30 years ago,” he said in response to one question. He added that rising oil prices had also caused inflation in Pakistan.
An IMF economist, Mr Baqir was appointed SBP governor in May 2019 for a three-year term. An Aitchison alumnus, Dr Baqir earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in Economics and has worked with the IMF for 18 years. He was the chief of the IMF’s Debt Policy Division and worked on IMF policies on external debt sustainability and restructuring of member countries.
Mr Baqir’s continuing role in the IMF raised questions after his appointment, but a federal minister said he had resigned from the Fund to become the governor of the central bank.
When contacted, the State Bank spokesman was not available to offer any comment.
Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2021


Does anyone remember this munafiqat?

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

no


With low value for Pakistani Rupee , more eatable goods leave Local Pakistani Market and end up overseas
While local people are left scrambling for food for "High Prices"


It is modern day Robbery of Natural Resources of Country

The problem is , in order to show Growth in Exports , Rupee value is sent to toilet !!!

There is pressure to "Export our food" outside Pakistan , in order to generate $$$$ To pay for oil and gas
This can be bought cheaply from many sources (Russia , Saudia, Iran ) and maintaining "storage"

Currently we send the Rupee value to toilet , and robbers come in and say sure , we will take all your eatable food , for pennies

• Pakistan thinks this Devaluation , generates Revenue/ GDP for Pakistan but ultimately this is creating empty stomachs at home and also , reducing value of old people's pension's saving

Rupee value should be set to 1 dollar for 50 rupee and all exports should be processed with that exchange rate or none at all

The excessive food should be stored or given to local people first , at reduced cost so people sleep with full plate of food

• Export of eatable food should only be allowed once local prices fall !!!

 

[Riz]

We have huge countries market around us , if govt help industrialists or new investors we can get huge sums of dollars in return. Good opportunity for the exporters to get benefit from current dollar rate too

 

[AZ1]

We have huge countries market around us , if govt help industrialists or new investors we can get huge sums of dollars in return. Good opportunity for the exporters to get benefit from current dollar rate too

There is a huge market of textile, IT but what i see is people business where they are just middle man imoport from china and sell it to customer.

 

[Riz]

There is a huge market of textile, IT but what i see is people business where they are just middle man imoport from china and sell it to customer.

Once upon a time Pakistan was biggest producer of cotton, now peoples stopped cotton crop and shifted to wheat and rice etc, due to stupid policies of past governments

 

[Vapnope]

Inflation will increase and export value will decrease. Only if we were services oriented economy, money devaluation would have helped us better.

 

[blueazure]

There is a huge market of textile, IT but what i see is people business where they are just middle man imoport from china and sell it to customer.

have you done a business your entire life ?

answer my question - no if and buts , no whataboutism

 

[AZ1]

have you done a business your entire life ?

answer my question - no if and buts , no whataboutism

Yes sir, doing IT business from last 6 years Alhumdulillah. Aur kuch?

 

[313ghazi]

Actually it doesn't benefit us. My English Pound is worth 223Rs, but what are those 223Rs worth? If the cost of stuff my family is buying has increased, then ultimately, sustaining their lifestyle costs me more £'s. This logic only works if the cost of living in Pakistan was not rising so much and so many items weren't imported.

IDK where they get these clowns from, but there seems to be no shortage of them.

no


With low value for Pakistani Rupee , more eatable goods leave Local Pakistani Market and end up overseas
While local people are left scrambling for food for "High Prices"


It is modern day Robbery of Natural Resources of Country

The problem is , in order to show Growth in Exports , Rupee value is sent to toilet !!!

There is pressure to "Export our food" outside Pakistan , in order to generate $$$$ To pay for oil and gas
This can be bought cheaply from many sources (Russia , Saudia, Iran ) and maintaining "storage"

Currently we send the Rupee value to toilet , and robbers come in and say sure , we will take all your eatable food , for pennies

• Pakistan thinks this Devaluation , generates Revenue/ GDP for Pakistan but ultimately this is creating empty stomachs at home and also , reducing value of old people's pension's saving

View attachment 786800



Rupee value should be set to 1 dollar for 50 rupee and all exports should be processed with that exchange rate or none at all

The excessive food should be stored or given to local people first , at reduced cost so people sleep with full plate of food

• Export of eatable food should only be allowed once local prices fall !!!

That is only because Pakistani's are shit at business.

If the prices of something are going up due to short demand, the clever businessmen starts making that product. He might not be able to hit the market that season, but maybe next season.

If we are exporting food and you think that is creating higher prices - why is nobody growing more food? Is agriculture in Pakistan at peak capacity and efficiency? Is there not money to be made there?

 

[AZ1]

Govt can also use reserves to bring down dollar but that will lead to burn dollars we have and if IMF doesnt lend us money then we would be in pressure again

So here and there nothing will work to bring dollar down until we have extra dollars in terms if either loan or Saudia, Uae again keep $ billions in our bank.


Or final option ban on imports of cars.

 

[VCheng]

“Let me explain the quantum of this. Though some lose out from the exchange rate increase, some also benefit. For example, if in this year remittances are approximately $30 billion — we hope they are higher — and if our exchange rate depreciates even 10 per cent, then it translates to an additional $3 billion reaching families of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan.

ROFL! What an utterly moronic statement!

And these are the people in charge of national finances!




(To be clear, devaluation gets more rupees into the hands of the recipients of the remittance for the same amount of dollars, that is all. Those rupees go down in value, so they buy the same amount of stuff, but for larger amounts, leading to high inflation. The remittances remain the same in dollars. Locals who earn in rupees get screwed since their paycheck is now worth less and less.)

 

[ARMalik]

ROFL! What an utterly moronic statement!

And these are the people in charge of national finances!

Unfortunately this fellow has a terrible track record when he was posted in Egypt, and he utterly destroyed Egyptian currency. And he has been posted to this position by Pakistan against the wishes of IK and Pakistan Finance Minister. Unfortunately, it is someone else running the show.

 

[fitpOsitive]

Rupee fall benefits expats’ families: Baqir

SBP governor’s comment termed ‘most irresponsible’.

www.dawn.com

LONDON: Remarks made by Reza Baqir, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), about the benefits of currency devaluation for overseas Pakistanis have elicited strong criticism by citizens and economists back home.
At a dinner held in honour of the SBP governor in London by businessman Anil Mussarat, Mr Baqir touched on the issue of the depreciation of rupee and attempted to present it as some sort of silver lining for those overseas Pakistanis who send remittances to family members.
“The families of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan benefit, because the volume of their hard-earned remittances are now increasing because of the exchange rate,” Mr Baqir said at the event on Monday.
“Let me explain the quantum of this. Though some lose out from the exchange rate increase, some also benefit. For example, if in this year remittances are approximately $30 billion — we hope they are higher — and if our exchange rate depreciates even 10 per cent, then it translates to an additional $3 billion reaching families of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan. In every economic policy, there are advantages for some and disadvantages for others,” he said.

He also said, “Obviously, those who buy imported items are facing difficulties. Those who have the ability to go on foreign trips or buy very expensive imported things obviously will be squeezed. But there are those who have benefited, and those are the families of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan.”
His remarks were recorded by journalists present at the interaction, and a video of his short press briefing went viral on social media. Many users questioned how the governor of the State Bank can praise the devaluation of his own currency.
One user pointed out that devaluation does not rehabilitate economies, but instead raises debt, cost of imports and slows down economic activities.
On Twitter, Uzair Younus, host of a podcast on Pakistan’s economic landscape, posted, “Arguing that a depreciating currency benefits families of overseas Pakistanis is a very weak argument. For starters, these flows represent at most 15 per cent of household income for a small fraction of households, as per PBS. Also, inflation eats into much of the gain experienced.”
“I know the latter because I’m one of the overseas Pakistanis whose remittances complement household incomes. Rising electricity, petrol [and] food prices don’t really leave much to gain. It’s amazing that the central bank governor, usually so measured, would use this logic.”


Commenting on Mr Baqir’s remarks, political economist and IBA’s executive director Akbar Zaidi told Dawn, “It is the most irresponsible comment that any public official can make. It shows how the governor of SBP is pandering to the PTI government’s obsession with overseas Pakistani at the cost of Pakistanis at home in the hope that the few who vote will vote for PTI. Secondly, the SBP governor and deputy governor are both from the IMF and are following simply what IMF wants, i.e. to let the rupee devalue. This is not even spin or intelligent spin. Someone in his position could have done this far better.”
Mr Baqir arrived in London from Washington DC, where he had accompanied Shaukat Tarin for ongoing talks with the IMF. Mr Baqir attended two events, one in London and the other in Manchester, where he was pushed by reporters on rising inflation in the country.
“Inflation is a global challenge in every country. In America, there is more inflation today than 20/30 years ago,” he said in response to one question. He added that rising oil prices had also caused inflation in Pakistan.
An IMF economist, Mr Baqir was appointed SBP governor in May 2019 for a three-year term. An Aitchison alumnus, Dr Baqir earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in Economics and has worked with the IMF for 18 years. He was the chief of the IMF’s Debt Policy Division and worked on IMF policies on external debt sustainability and restructuring of member countries.
Mr Baqir’s continuing role in the IMF raised questions after his appointment, but a federal minister said he had resigned from the Fund to become the governor of the central bank.
When contacted, the State Bank spokesman was not available to offer any comment.
Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2021


Does anyone remember this munafiqat?

People living in Pakistan don't matter, right?
Inna lillahi wa inna ilyhi rajioon.

 

[AZMwi]

total bullshit. how devaluation of rupee gonna help the expat families??
now i have to send extra money back home every month due to inflation while my income here in australia will remain the same.
this imported idiot has gone nuts.

 

[HttpError]

When fools like this can be made the governor of SBP then our future doesn't look very bright and it is another signal that will further depreciate. I have vowed myself not to keep any PKR from now on.