KARACHI: The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $149.7 million in financing for Pakistan to support two projects related to the country’s digital economy and improved flood resilience, according to a statement issued by the international financial institution on Saturday.
The allocated funding of $78 million for the Digital Economy Enhancement Project is expected to enhance financial management through technology-driven solutions and data-driven decision-making. The investment in digital economy is also likely to streamline public services, increase transparency and foster economic growth.
Simultaneously, the $71.7 million allocation for the Sindh Barrages Improvement Project is likely to ensure greater flood resilience, a critical issue for Pakistan that is highly vulnerable to climate change.
“The catastrophic floods that hit Pakistan in 2022 were a tragic reminder of the importance to build resilience to such disasters, including by strengthening barrages and their management,” World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine said in a statement.
“Also, supporting the growing digital economy in Pakistan is key for economic and social development, broadening connectivity and access to government and financial services for citizens and entrepreneurs, particularly women,” he added.
The World Bank statement highlighted the digital economy project aims to develop digital authentication and data-sharing platforms. The initiative will enable Pakistan to respond more effectively and efficiently to economic and environmental shocks.
Additionally, it will enhance the delivery of e-government services to citizens and firms, supporting regulatory reforms in the sector. These reforms will facilitate increased private sector participation while strengthening personal data protection and online safety.
The project also seeks to promote financial inclusion by enabling women in particular to open bank accounts or apply remotely for credit through a smartphone application. It will also contribute to addressing barriers such as limited mobility and digital literacy.
“The digital economy and demand for digital government services have been growing across the country, increasing the need for connectivity, digital payments and secure and trusted digital transactions,” the project team leader, Shan Rehman, said. “The project takes a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation and will help ensure that digital platforms are inclusive and trusted.”
About the other project, the bank said having safe and effective barrages to convey flood waters downstream was a crucial part of building climate resilience in Sindh.
It informed that its financing would contribute to strengthening the provincial Barrage Management Unit’s technical capacities, promoting women’s participation in emergency preparedness and implementing extensive citizen engagement and stakeholder participation.
“Barrages such as the ones supported by SBIP [Sindh Barrages Irrigation Department] are critical for the livelihoods and climate-resilience of the Sindh Province,” said Francois Onimus, who is spearheading the endeavor. “The project will increase the resilience of the canal systems that are fed from these barrages, reducing the adverse impacts of extreme floods and drought events.”
World Bank approves $149.7 million for Pakistan’s digital and flood resilience projects
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World Bank approves $149.7 million for Pakistan’s digital and flood resilience projects
- The bank has allocated $78 million to improve digital economy and $71.7 million to improve the barrage system in Sindh
- Pakistan has been working to find technology-driven financial solutions and strengthen itself against climate-induced disasters
Pakistan says inflation expected to drop to 17.5 percent in May amid signs of economic recovery
- Finance ministry says Pakistan to achieve modest growth this year, enabling improved performance in the next fiscal
- It acknowledges higher fuel prices, saying they will be offset by the government’s initiative to reduce wheat flour prices
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance ministry said on Tuesday the country’s economy was showing signs of recovery, highlighting a downward inflationary trend that could reach 17.5 percent in the upcoming month of May.
The statement comes at a time when Pakistan received a disbursement of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the second and final tranche under a $3 billion standby arrangement secured last summer to avert a sovereign default.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said earlier in the day the money would help the country achieve greater economic stability, with his government striving for a bigger loan program for a longer duration.
The finance ministry said in its Monthly Economic Update and Outlook for April 2024 that the economy was “on a resilient track to achieve modest growth this year, setting the basis for better performance in the upcoming fiscal year.”
“Headline inflation observed the lowest reading after 21 months,” it noted. “In March, CPI [consumer price index] inflation recorded the third consecutive YoY [year-on-year] decline, dropping to 20.7 percent from 35.4 percent last year. This decrease was observed throughout the third quarter of FY2024.”
It added the inflation outlook for April 2024 continued a downward trajectory, with the government determined to reduce it by taking strict administrative measures.
The outlook report said the increasing crude oil prices in the international market had prompted the government to raise domestic fuel prices. However, the rise in these rates was expected to be offset by the government initiative to reduce wheat flour prices.
“Inflation is projected to hover around 18.519.5 percent in April 2024,” it continued. “However, there are expectations of a gradual easing further to 17.5-18.5 percent in May 2024.”
Pakistan’s economy witnessed a major inflationary pressure in recent years after its governments sought IMF assistance amid dwindling foreign currency reserves and depreciating national currency.
The international lender urged the country to carry out economic reforms – such as removal of subsidies and increase in fuel charges and power tariffs – which led to spiraling inflation and pushed about 40 percent of its population below the poverty line.
Last year in February, financial experts warned of spiraling inflation of up to 40 percent after official data revealed that weekly inflation had touched 38.4 percent on an annual basis.
However, the situation has gradually improved, though inflationary pressure still continues to remain on the higher side.
Saudi business delegates to soon visit Pakistan, help expedite economic cooperation — PM Sharif
- Pakistan is currently making rigorous efforts to attract investment from Saudi Arabia, other Gulf nations to support dwindling economy
- PM Shehbaz Sharif expresses resolve to work hard to implement consensus achieved in meetings with Saudi leadership on WEF sidelines
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that a delegation of Saudi businessmen would soon visit Pakistan, which would help expedite economic cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
The statement came at the end of PM Sharif’s visit to Riyadh, where he attended a two-day World Economic Forum (WEF) summit on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development on April 28-29.
On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister held meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as Saudi ministers of energy, economy and planning, and environment, water, and agriculture.
Sharif, upon the completion of his visit, said bilateral relations and economic partnership between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were getting “stronger and stronger.”
“A delegation of businessmen from Saudi Arabia is visiting Pakistan in the next few days,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued from his office.
“The speed of economic partnership between the two countries will be accelerated by the visit of the Saudi Arabian businessmen.”
He expressed his resolve to work hard to implement the consensus achieved at the leadership level between the two countries, saying that a record number of delegations had been exchanged between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia during the past two months.
“His Excellency Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman issued special instructions to Saudi ministers regarding Pakistan, for which we are extremely grateful,” Sharif said.
“I also pay tribute to Saudi ministers, who made full preparations for the implementation of the consensus between the leadership [of the two countries].”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Both countries have been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.
Czechoslovakian software company to invest $1 million in Pakistan data center
- IceWarp officials says the company plans to open subsidiary in Saudi Arabia after establishing presence in Pakistan
- The Czech company offers cost-effective services, including hosted email, TeamChat and ChatGPT integration
KARACHI: A Czechoslovakia-based software company is all set to invest about $1 million in Pakistan to set up a data center, said one of the top organization officials on Tuesday while also highlighting plans to launch a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia.
Established in 1998, IceWarp has presence in more than 100 countries and provides specialized and highly cost-effective services, such as hosted email, TeamChat, ChatGPT integration and online conferences etc.
“Pakistan is a high potential land where digital transformation can be seen from public sector entities to private businesses,” Jan Urbik, IceWarp’s global chief sales officer, told a news conference in Karachi. “We will support Pakistan in its mission to adopt digitalization through affordable solutions.”
Urbik said his company would set up a data center in Pakistan in compliance with the local regulations requiring companies to keep the data and privacy of Pakistani citizens within the country’s borders.
“IceWarp will offer solutions that are 60 percent more cost-effective than other software companies, along with enhanced applications and cybersecurity features that will attract a number of industries, financial institutions, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups to use our services,” he added.
He mentioned the launch of the data center and full fledge operations with an investment of about $1 million in the country to set up a local subsidiary in collaboration with Hexalyze, a Pakistani company.
IceWarp, which has presence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is also planning to set up a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia.
“During the summer time, we visited Saudi Arabia and we have been to [the] LEAP [technology conference] and we have been talking with multiple partners,” Urbik said, adding that local entities told him that his company was welcome in the kingdom.
“So, Saudi Arabia is in our head as the future possibility to open the subsidiary there as well,” he continued.
Syed Saad Shah, CEO of Hexalyze, informed that IceWarp was planning to set up its regional office in Pakistan in collaboration with his company.
“The Czechoslovakia-based software company will expand its operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with separate data centers in these countries while the Pakistan office will serve as the back-up support station for marketing and sales,” Shah said.
The cost-effective corporate email solutions will enable hundreds of companies in Pakistan to adopt this tech-based solution in their businesses for the first time, he continued.
“On the other hand, corporate customers will not only save money from the expenses of enterprise services, but these companies will also save precious foreign exchange for the country by paying less to the service provider,” he added.
Present in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Pakistan with global alliance partners, Pakistan’s IT company Hexalyze has been providing integration of tech solutions to SMEs as well as large enterprises since 2014.
Pakistan receives final tranche of $1.1 billion as part IMF loan program — central bank
- The IMF executive board completed the second review of the $3 billion loan program in its meeting on Monday
- The approval came a day after PM Sharif’s meeting with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Riyadh
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received a final tranche of $1.1 billion as part of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program it entered last summer, the central bank said on Tuesday.
The IMF executive board completed the second review of the Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) in its meeting on Monday and approved the disbursement of SDR 828 million ($1.1 billion) for Pakistan, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The approval came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed a new loan program with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
“SBP has received SDR 828 million (around $ 1.1 billion) in value 29 Apr 2024 in its account from IMF,” the central bank said in a statement. “The amount shall be reflected in SBP’s foreign exchange reserves for the week ending on 3rd May 2024.”
Pakistan secured the $3 billion IMF program in June last year, which helped it avert a sovereign default. Islamabad says it is seeking a new loan over at least three years to help achieve macroeconomic stability and execute long-overdue reforms.
Finance Minister Aurangzeb has said Islamabad could secure a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July, though he has declined to detail what size of the program it seeks. If secured, it would be Pakistan’s 24th IMF bailout.
The $350 billion South Asian economy faces a chronic balance of payments crisis, with nearly $24 billion to repay in debt and interest over the next fiscal year — three-time more than its central bank’s foreign currency reserves.
Pakistan’s finance ministry expects the economy to grow by 2.6 percent in the fiscal year ending in June, while average inflation for the year is projected to stand at 24 percent, down from 29.2 percent the previous fiscal year.
Gunmen kill a police officer assigned to protect polio workers in northwest Pakistan
- At least 10 police have died this year while on security duty for vaccination campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence, with militants claiming campaigns sterilize children
PESHAWAR: Gunmen fatally shot a police officer assigned to protect polio workers in Pakistan’s northwest, an official said Tuesday.
At least 10 police have died this year while on security duty for vaccination campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The gunmen fired at a team working in Bajaur district, killing the officer on the spot, police officer Dilawar Khan said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.
Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, falsely claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
A five-day anti-polio campaign started Monday in 13 high-risk districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. More than 21,000 teams are tasked with administering vaccines to 4,423,000 children under age 5. More than 32,000 police are protecting the teams.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only countries where the spread of polio has never been stopped.
The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under age 5 and typically spreads through contaminated water.
