December 10, 2021 – Page 2 – Business Observer

December 10, 2021

Babar Azam is the Most Successful Test Captain in 2021

Pakistan’s star batter, Babar Azam, has had a terrific start to his captaincy career in all formats of the game. While there were doubts about his leadership skills when he was first appointed as captain, those doubts have quickly been laid to rest by Pakistan’s performances under his captaincy.

Babar has grown into the leadership role and has taken charge of the team, guiding them to their first T20 World Cup semi-final since 2012 and has also led them to three Test series victories in the calendar year.

The 27-year old has been particularly impressive as captain in the longest format. Pakistan has won 7 out of 8 Tests under the captaincy of Babar Azam in the calendar year, making him the most successful Test captain in the world. No other captain has won more Test matches than Babar Azam this year. Indian Test captain, Virat Kohli, is second on the list with 6 victories, and England captain, Joe Root, has the third-most wins as captain with 4 victories under his belt.

Babar has led his team to a series victory over South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh while Pakistan drew the Test series against West Indies in West Indies. Pakistan’s magnificent performances have led them to the second spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) and the Men in Green have a golden opportunity to make it to the final of WTC in 2023.

Source: Pro Pakistani

December 10, 2021

Mohammad Yousuf Lauds Pakistan Team for Brilliant Back-to-Back Performances

Pakistan legend and former batter, Mohammad Yousuf, has lauded the back-to-back solid displays of the Pakistan cricket team in the T20 World Cup and Bangladesh.

Chatting with the media, the former captain said that the performances of the national side have improved significantly in recent months and their displays in these two events show that the team has great chemistry both on and off the pitch.

Regarding the T20 World Cup, the 47-year-old noted that several teams take part in such events but there can be only one winner. Although Pakistan lost to Australia in the semi-final of the mega event, they should be proud of their performances in the tournament.

Praising the team for maintaining focus even after the T20 World Cup, he said that it’s never easy to stay focused after such a heart-breaking exit from a mega-event but the team did well and immediately bounced back by whitewashing Bangladesh in their backyard.

Source: Pro Pakistani

December 10, 2021

Govt taking steps to promote tourism in country: President

President Dr. Arif Alvi says Pakistan is witnessing boom in tourism sector which will not only project positive image of the country but also help generate revenue.

Addressing a conference on the eve of International Mountain Day in Islamabad on Friday, he said government is taking several measures to promote tourism in the country.

He said Pakistan needs human resource development in this regard and universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan already have started short courses in hotel management and tourism.

The President called for involving locals in building infrastructure in tourist destinations to facilitate tourists.

Speaking on the occasion, Managing Director Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana said a national tourism plan has been devised as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to promote tourism in the country.

He said Prime Minister himself is monitoring the progress on development and facilitation process in tourism sector.

The MD said restructuring of PTDC has been carried out in order to make the organization more efficient.

He said different tourism areas have been divided into zones in KP, GB and Punjab provinces. He said PTDC has also established a help line 1422 for inquiries and information regarding tourism. He said steps are also being taken to promote religious tourism in the country.

On the occasion, the President distributed certificates of appreciation among the top mountaineers of the country. Sirbaz Khan, Hassan Jan, Ali Raza Sadpara, Qudrat Ali, Sadiq Sadpara, Ali Moosa Sadpara and Naila Kiani were among the certificate recipients.

Special prayer was offered for the mountaineering legend Ali Sadpara who lost his life while summiting K-2 in winter.

Source: Radio Pakistan

December 10, 2021

Remaining track of Green Line project in Karachi to be completed within a year: Asad

Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar has said the remaining track of Green Line project in Karachi would be completed within one year.

Talking to media, he said that this project would be completed at cost of 35 billion rupees as per the agreement between Sindh and federal governments.

To a question, the minister said the Sindh government would collect the revenue of first three years and transfer it to the federal government as per accord.

He said this project would be profitable for the country and the fare would be from Rs 15 to Rs 55.

Source: Radio Pakistan

December 10, 2021

Pakistan Will “Soon” Receive Over $2 Billion in Funds Through IMF, Sukuk And Eurobonds

Pakistan is expected to receive more than $2 billion from various sources within the next one and a half months.

The sources include funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the new Sukuk, and Eurobonds issues.

Reliable sources from within the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have told ProPakistani that the central bank will soon confirm the receipt of over $2 billion in confirmed credit, including $1 billion from the IMF next tranche and the remaining payment in par through respective issues of Sukuk and Eurobonds.

While the sources couldn’t confirm the draft timeline for the placement of funds with the bank, the prospectus inflows are expected to propel forex reserves to reach $20.5 billion in the near term.

Amid a widening current account deficit, declining foreign currency reserves, and a depreciating rupee, additional fundraising to meet budgetary requirements is essential for Pakistan. Earlier, the State Bank of Pakistan witnessed huge inflows of $3 billion from Saudi Arabia, pushing reserves to 25.1 billion by the week ending 3 December 2021. External debt and other official payments were also made, and the SBP reserves reflected a net addition of $2.648 billion to stand at $18.658 billion. The foreign exchange reserves held by the commercial banks stood at $6.4 billion.

It is pertinent to note that the Islamic denominated Ijara Sukuk was launched following a staff-level agreement with the IMF in November. The bond was launched with the aim that Pakistan would be able to get a ‘favorable’ deal in the shape of getting a competitive mark-up on offered amounts from potential investors.

Government officials at the time did mention that the remaining $1-1.5 billion bonds will be launched in the second half (Jan-June) period of FY2022.

Moreover, the country’s trade deficit expanded by 162.4 percent during November, owing to an almost threefold increase in imports compared to exports. The current account deficit stood at $5.08 billion from July to October 2021 as against the current account surplus of $1.33 billion reported in the same period the last year.

Source: Pro Pakistani

December 10, 2021

Govt Raises Rs. 68 Billion Through Fixed Rate Ijara Sukuk

The government on Thursday raised Rs. 68 billion through the auction of five-year fixed rate government of Pakistan Ijara Sukuk against the target of Rs. 25 billion.

The cut-off rental rate of 11 percent, however, was much higher than the cut-off rate in the auction held on September 30, which stood at 9.7 percent.

The government has also raised Rs. 47 billion through the auction of five-year variable rate Ijara Sukuk. The issuance of the Sukuk will help the government in diversifying its outstanding debt.

The government plans to raise Rs. 6.90 trillion to finance the budget deficit caused by low revenues through the auctions of Market Treasury Bills (MTB), Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB) and Sukuk from December 2021 to February 2022.

During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the budget deficit jumped to Rs. 745 billion compared to Rs. 529 billion during the same period of the previous year. The budget deficit in the first quarter of the current fiscal year stands at 1.4 percent of the gross domestic product compared to 1.2 percent during the same period of the previous year.

Source: Pro Pakistani