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Print Print 2019-05-15

Partly Facetious : Remember the Asian financial crisis

"So the locals remained unimpressed while foreigners invested in our stock market."
Published May 15, 2019

"So the locals remained unimpressed while foreigners invested in our stock market."
"But one must not rely on stock market share purchase by foreigners as any long-term investment commitment from an economic perspective. Remember the Asian financial crisis when foreigners left the Asian stock markets overnight and..."
"Yeah, yeah I get you; but I am in no mood to discuss foreign portfolio investment and its pros and cons, yes it can leave over night as it did from South Asian economies during the Asian financial crisis, but I want to know why local sentiment was at odds with foreign sentiment."
"You are referring to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal I presume?"
"Yes I am."
"The only thing I can think of is that the locals remain, notice the use of the word remain, unimpressed with Hafeez Sheikh based on his previous performance - both as Musharraf's privatization minister and Zardari sahib's minister of finance..."
"What did he do wrong as the finance minister?"
"He was given the portfolio in 2010 and was unable to meet any Fund conditions so the ongoing programme was suspended; he then proceeded to ensure that the country needed another Fund package by the time he left..."
"Left for where?"
"Dubai, he lives there."
"Oh OK, I presume he has an iqama."
"But, anyway he has no offshore accounts in Panama."
"That we don't know; all we know is that he doesn't have any offshore accounts in Mossack Fonseca."
"True, anyway these one man constituents are all like that."
"One-man constituents?"
"A one-man constituent is when only one man (or perhaps one institution) has to be convinced to hire his services."
"I can understand one man constituents during military dictatorships but isn't it kind of a contradiction for our elected leaders to appoint a one man constituent ..."
"It happens all the time; anyway locals were unimpressed at the deal; we have around 40 odd key stock market players who can manipulate the market and who may have allowed the market to drop just to flex their muscle and to let Sheikh know not to make any attempt to change their taxes."
"Ah indeed."

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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