National Savings Scheme

Another important article on CHOWK`S Market Street by Mr. Saleh.
Keep writing Sir, someday these ideas will sink in and actually generate
some decent debate.

Ras

Jay...as I suggested to you earlier you should THINK before you type. These asylam seekers obviously cannot have that much money, dollars that is, being sent to banks in Pakistan that is resulting in this multi billion dollar FX reserve increases. It is not worth my time to argue with you as I am trying to explain an aspect of finance whereas you are more interested in bad mouthing a people - although if there was a nobel prize for stupidity you would have been the top contender.

nawaid,

If I remeber correctly, there was a statistics of NAB activity, neary 300 business people, same number of public servents and 5 military men were arresyed. A leading industrialist in the textile sector was one of the first to be arrested.

There is no denying that the actiovities of the NAB in treating the loan defaulters as criminal cannot stimulate industrial growth.

Once again the pakistanis abroad are cannot afford to keep their money in foreign banks because the possibility of the funds being siezed at the wiff of ant terrorist connections. So the pakistanis are keeping their money in pakistani banks from where they can easily tranfer to jihadists with out the fear of beinbg tracked. This is the primary reason for the surge in foreign remittances, not really due to surge in paki-patriotism.

If any one thinks that pak economy is bu,img under the threat of war has the proverbial in their heads.

Pakistanis fleeing to Canada


By Masood Haider

NEW YORK, Jan 3: Fearing reprisals and deportations in the face of US Immigration registration deadline drawing near, hundreds of Pakistanis have crossed into Canada seeking political asylum, several Pakistani families said on Friday.

``There has been an increase in the number of asylum seekers at our border posts,`` a spokesperson for Canadian foreign office, Nancy Duarte, told Dawn on telephone.

Ms Duarte said: ``We (Canada) are committed to doing bet in providing protection to those in need and our commitment to refugees is unwavering.``

On Monday, Usman Ghani, 23-year-old a business and finance student at New Jersey`s Keane University crossed at Canadian border near Montreal and sought political asylum. His case is microcosm of the state of uncertainty facing the Pakistani immigrants in US.

Ghani, who has legal status in the United States since his father, a Pakistani newsman, came to the United States eight years ago. He was given (I) visa meant for working journalists. But his stay at the university became insecure when some of his peers threatened him with dire consequences. Already his uncle, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, had been killed by an American extremist and his father was a victim of similar attack in New Jersey.

Ghani said that while he was at the Canadian border in Plattsburg (New York) he met at least 80 Pakistani immigrants who had crossed into Canada seeking political asylum.

The Montreal crossing is one of the border crossings between US and Canada from where hundreds more Muslims were reportedly crossing daily into Canada.

Many asylum seekers had been provided temporary housing and money for the stay until their cases were heard.

yusufkhan,

///Now tell where these misserable pakistanis are likely to keep their money. It has to be in some bank which is not likely to reveal their income history. They are crossing into canada as distitutes, with their money in the pak banks.

Jay#3

[The great surge of the pak stock is simply a correction to the earlier down grading due to tyhe activities of the NAB in arresting the business people.]

i guess some ppl dont think when it comes to word Paksitan while typing, 1300 points correction in one & half month? do you understand KSE index? or you have slighest of idea how it calculated? Every SE is not Wall Street .
NAB against business leader? have you ever gone through any annual report of major Pakistani banks beofre making such comments? and can you give me the figures how many business leaders NAB has arrested in last three years?
Its typical obession of an indian to Pakistan, when S&P was upgrading Pakistan`s rating, Indians were crying on Chowk and in various Indian news papers,alhtough Pakistan`s upgrading has nothing to do with India.

Ajay...none of your reasons are rational
- If all Pakistanis are scared that their funds would be siezed then why would they send money to Pakistan? Isnt it easier to just not give any money at all?
- FX reserves going up because people dont have to finance educational expenses... Most of the educational expenses were paid from bank accounts in the US or through the hawala system which didnot go through the official sources. If less students are going to study in the US then why should the money find its way into official coffers?????? THINK THINK!
>>The great surge of the pak stock is simply a correction to the >>earlier down grading due to tyhe activities of the NAB in arresting the >>business people
Again think before you type..see if your logic makes any sense. NAB has been trying to arrest politicians not business leaders...even if business leaders were arrested is just that positive signal enough to rally the market by 90%..the same year the DAX fell 47%!!
->>A person who wants to start an industry in pakistan should be a >>confirmed lunatic
I guess the S&P and Moody`s rating agencies dont agree with you as they have just upgraded Pakistan`s debt to BB-/Stable.

I can tell from your post that you dont know much about Finance, are not on Chowk to learn or provide others with your knowledge but are here to malign a country and its people.

yusufkan,

Because of the fight against terror, pakistanis who were earlier having their money in US and other foreign banks are afaraid that their funds could be siezed at the smallest doubt about their links to the jihadists. This could be as simple as transferring money to an allegedly charitable organisation with links to jihadists. So the pakistanis all over the world have send their monies to pakistan, the only place where this is not likely to happen.

This is the simple fact behind the foreign exchange bonanza that pakistan is having. Another factor is that due to visa restrictions not many pakis are able to study abroad. This has reduced the foreign exchange drain together witgh lower economic activity in pakistan.

In the longer term, there will be less job opportunities for pakistanis abroad, lesser pf education, lesser foreign investment. Look at the new govt, all that the new PM has talked about is changing to friday holiday. There has been not even a single lew share issue in the pak stock exchange. The great surge of the pak stock is simply a correction to the earlier down grading due to tyhe activities of the NAB in arresting the business people.

A person who wants to start an industry in pakistan should be a confirmed lunatic. When there are so many other opportunities of lower risk like import, burra markets, and the good old car jacking.

A vibrant share market is a symbol of economic modernity and trasparent finacial dealings, makistan is eons away from it. Dont firget the riba case, it can com3 back with the new jihadic govt.

Amin...a good read for any one interested in the Pakistani domestic paper markets. Personally, I really think given the present positive sentiment for Pakistani economy and the relatively large retail dollar holding in the country Pakistan should try issuing domestic dollar based notes. I think people might be interested given the low dollar/euro govi rates available. I know the previous experience of dollar based investors has been bad but its a good time to test the water.

JAY...if the present Pakistani situation is so bad then you might want to explain the massive rally in the stock market (the highest return of any market), and the rally in the currency against the USD. Most emerging economies take hits off and on...take a look at Russia or the ex asian tigers. At the height of the 1998 Russian default the Russian dollar denomenated debt was trading at 10c on the dollar and now its bid only. Investors are fickle...greed and fear dominate the financial markets. No matter how hard a hit one takes people will always pile in when they see a rally. The investors that sold russia at 10c on the dollar are probably the same one that are now bidding it up at par!

Amin,

All of the economic jargons you have used make no sense in the context of the pak economy. The great de-dollarisation of the savings have destroyed ant trust what soever of the people in the govt. The accountability beauro actions have destryed the private sector.

Out of the two devils, people tend to trust the govt, at least whether military, or mullah, it has to exist. So all of the talk about capital matkets in pakistan is fantacy.

Now talk about the new govt. It is going to give a huge amount of money per year to each of the elected reps to spend. Is there any oconomic evaluation process, how is the continuity of the projects ensured, what is the usefulness of these fragmanted projects OR is it simply a distribution of the loot, in the traditions of the pak hero gaznavi.

Amin you are only trying to align the deck chairs on the titanic when it is listing.