The Pakistani rupee continues to slide against the greenback, creating a panic in the local currency market. The currency lost 4.5 per cent in the open market and 2.4 per cent in inter-bank trading against the US dollar in the first 50 days of the new government led by the prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Before the new government was installed on June 5, the currency was being traded at 99 rupees in the open market and 98 rupees in inter-bank trading against the US dollar. After less than two months, the dollar is now being traded as high as 104 rupees in the open market with an inter-bank rate of 101.
The rupee suffered a steep fall against international currencies including the US dollar despite the IMF recently agreeing to provide a new loan of more than $5 billion to Pakistan.
It has become difficult for account-holders of foreign currency to have access to their holdings, while exchange companies are not being provided dollars by the bank. The dollar is transferred to Pakistan through banks, which provide dollars to exchange companies on their demand. The commercial banks are reportedly not providing dollars to the exchange companies, which bring dollars from Dubai by selling other currencies.
In view of the increasing demand for the dollar, market analysts predict further deterioration for the rupee. The central bank has, however, so far taken no step to stop the freefall of the currency. Ishaq Dar, Pakistan's finance minister, had to hold meetings with the central bank's governor, currency dealers and the exchange companies last week to develop a strategy to deal with the fluid situation in the currency market.
The currency dealers believe that a sharp increase in gold imports over the past six months increased the dollar demand that led to draining from the open market. Dealers have demanded an immediate government ban on gold imports, while the exchange companies have demanded intervention from the central bank.
The widening gap between the dollar price in the open and inter-bank markets poses a threat to the inflow of remittances from overseas Pakistani workers through legal banking channels because a high dollar rate in the open market could revive "hundi and hawala", the illegal channels of remittances.
The rupee is also in freefall because of a negative outlook on Pakistan's economy. Constant depreciation is attributed to the widening current account deficit, excessive government borrowing, absence of foreign flows, increasing oil imports and repayments to the IMF.
The Pakistani currency has depreciated by almost 11.30 rupees against the dollar since December 31, 2011 because of falling foreign reserves and a high demand for the dollar in the local currency market. Pakistan's current account deficit widened to $2 billion in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year, which ended on June 30. There are concerns over declining foreign exchange reserves, which are persistently in decline.
They dropped to $10.502bn in the week ending July 12, from $10.543bn the previous week, according to the central bank. Forex reserves held by the central bank stood at $5.521bn while commercial banks' reserves were $4.981bn.
Last month, the IMF agreed to sign a fresh loan agreement worth $5.3bn with the new Pakistani government to rebuild the country's foreign exchange reserves to stave off a balance of payment crisis. The loan deal raised hopes for more foreign inflows into the country. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank, which had suspended their programmes for more than three years, are expected to resume programme lending to Pakistan and disburse $400m to $500m each by next January.
Following the deal with the IMF, Pakistani officials also expect to receive about $5bn from multilateral lenders in six months and from the UAE's Etisalat thanks to privatisation proceeds of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).
Etisalat held up about $800m as proceeds of the PTCL privatisation held in 2005.
Under the previous government led by the former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the rupee continuously weakened against the US dollar.
The currency, which is presently valued at 101 rupees to the dollar, had closed the fiscal year in June 2011 at 85.97 to the dollar. It depreciated 4.82 per cent against the dollar in 2011, while it lost 1.53 per cent of its value in 2010.
Under the former government of Shaukat Aziz (2004-07), foreign exchange rates enjoyed stability and the rupee did not lose its value against the US dollar, remaining at about 60 to the dollar.
Syed Fazl E Haider is a development analyst in Pakistan. He is the author of books including The Economic Development of Balochistan
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
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Five expert hiking tips
- Always check the weather forecast before setting off
- Make sure you have plenty of water
- Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
- Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
- Take your litter home with you
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
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Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Fixtures
Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
Note: All matches start at 10am, admission is free
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Honeymoonish
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6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m
10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
The National selections:
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10pm: Chasing Dreams
10.35pm: Good Fortune
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass
CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU
Memory: 4GB
Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD
Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio
Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video
Platform: Android 11
Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics
Durability: IP52
Biometrics: Face unlock
Price: Dh849
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
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SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)