Govt appoints Dr Reza Baqir as new SBP governor

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: PTI led federal government on Saturday appointed Dr Reza Baqir as the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

“The President of Pakistan is pleased to appoint Dr Reza Baqir as Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for a period of three years from the date he assumes office,” read a notification from the government issued late Saturday night.

A Harvard and Berkeley University of California alumnus, Dr Baqir has been with the IMF since 2000 and is presently the Fund s senior resident representative in Egypt. He has previously served as the head of the IMF Mission for Romania, and as Head of the Fund s Debt Policy Division.

Baqir s appointment comes a day after Tariq Bajwa resigned from the post of the SBP governor.

Moreover, government has decided to appoint Dr Ahmed Mujtaba Memon as chairman FBR,

Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh as Adviser on Finance in place of Umar, as inflation rose to its highest in six years.

The IMF is pushing Pakistan to embrace a more flexible rupee policy to end repeated boom-and-bust cycles, with many analysts arguing that the local currency is overvalued.

The government of premier Imran Khan has also been frustrated by the low tax collection rates during its first year in office, with the disappointing figures threatening Khan’s promises to build a welfare state for the poor.

The central bank in March cut its economic growth estimates, forecasting the economy would expand 3.5 to 4 percent in the 12 months to the end of June, well short of a government target of 6.2 percent. The IMF paints a gloomier picture, predicting growth of 2.9 percent in 2019 and 2.8 percent next year.

Pakistan’s consumer price inflation in March rose to its highest since November 2013, hitting 9.41 percent year-on-year, before easing to 8.82 percent in April.