WASHINGTON
\nPakistan Finance Minister has said the GDP takes hit from deadly floods. The deadly flooding that swept Pakistan this summer squeezed the country\u2019s agricultural sector, likely delivering a blow to economic growth this year, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said.
\nInitial assessments showed damage to the country\u2019s rice and cotton sectors, Aurangzeb said during an interview with Bloomberg News in Washington on Thursday. He said more detailed damage assessments will take place in the coming months. \u201cThis will put in a dent to our GDP growth number,\u201d he said. \u201cMy own view is it will still be north of 3.5%, early days, but anywhere between 3.5 to 4.\u201d
\nHeavy monsoon rains beginning in late June devastated farmland in Pakistan, hitting the country\u2019s rice-growing region of Punjab especially hard. The rains and resulting floods displaced more than 4 million people and killed about 900. Prior to the flooding, the Pakistani government projected economic growth of 4.2% for the fiscal year ending next June. \u201cClimate change for us is not academic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are living it, and the recent floods actually are a reflection of that.\u201d
\nPakistan\u2019s economy has been stabilizing following a near-default on government debt two years ago. The South Asian nation is set to receive about $1.2 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund after signing off on a staff-level agreement with the IMF, following a successful review of its $7 billion loan program. The third loan installment is expected to help bolster the country\u2019s $407 billion economy, which has stabilized after it narrowly avoided a default on government debt two years ago.
\nThe IMF estimates the country\u2019s economy will grow between 3.25% and 3.5% in the fiscal year to June despite the destructive monsoon rains. Pakistan predicts inflation may cross the upper bound of its 5%-7% target range this year, cooling from a record 38% two years ago.
\nMeanwhile, Pakistan and the US have moved to rebuild military and economic ties after years of strain. Economic links have grown with a trade deal that levied a 19% tariff on Pakistani goods, lower than regional peers and well below the 50% tariff on rival India. The finance minister also said Pakistan planned to issue its inaugural tranche of yuan-denominated debt \u2014 known as Panda bonds \u2014 by late November or early December.
\nThe $250 million issue is key to diversifying the country\u2019s funding channels, he said. \u201cWe have tapped the US dollar market, we have done euros, we have done Islamic sukuk, but we had not accessed the second largest, the second deepest capital market in the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON Pakistan Finance Minister has said the GDP takes hit from deadly floods. The deadly flooding that swept Pakistan this summer squeezed the country\u2019s agricultural sector, likely delivering a blow to economic growth this year, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said. Initial assessments showed damage to the country\u2019s rice and cotton sectors, Aurangzeb said during an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-509182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n