ISLAMABAD: The World Bank (WB) has estimated a moderate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for Pakistan standing at 4% for the incoming fiscal year, 2022-23, as compared to the official government-approved projections of 5% for the next budget, newspapers reported, citing the latest WB report Wednesday.
“In Pakistan, growth is expected to be moderate from 5.7% in FY2020/21 to 4.0% in 2022/23 as foreign demand slows significantly and policy support is withdrawn to contain external and fiscal imbalances,” the report, ‘Global Economic Prospects’, stated.
The WB has cited Pakistani government’s preliminary estimate for real GDP (factor cost) growth for the outgoing FY — that is 6% — in the report’s footnotes. It also mentioned that some of the regional economies have prioritised structural reforms to boost their economic growth.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has improved its monetary policy framework by reinforcing its central bank’s functional and administrative autonomy, which restricts the government from borrowing from the central bank, and entrenching price stability as monetary policy’s primary objective.