Change for the sake of it? Why was SBP Gov Reza Baqir's term not renewed?

[MenInG]

Dr Baqir was appointed as the governor of the central bank by President Arif Alvi on May 4, 2019, for a period of three years from the day he assumes the office of the Governor. He assumed his responsibilities on May 5, 2019.

In addition to his regular responsibilities overseeing financial and monetary stability in the country and promoting sustainable economic growth, Dr Baqir had led several key new initiatives at the State Bank since assuming office which are mentioned above.

Prior to this appointment, Dr Baqir had eighteen years of experience with the IMF and two years of experience with the World Bank. He was the Head of the IMF's Office in Egypt and Senior Resident Representative since August 2017.

He had also held positions as IMF’s Mission Chief for Romania and Bulgaria, Division Chief of the IMF's Debt Policy Division, Strategy, Policy and Review Department, overseeing IMF’s work on debt relief and sovereign debt restructuring, head of the IMF delegation to the Paris Club for four years, and Deputy Division Chief of the Emerging Markets Division overseeing IMF’s loans and policies in emerging markets, amongst other roles.

Dr Baqir represented the State Bank of Pakistan on the Board of Directors of the Asian Clearing Union, the Board of Governors of the Economic Cooperation Organization Trade and Development Bank, the Council of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the Financial Stability Regional Consultative Group for Asia, and the IMF’s Board of Governors.

He was appointed as Chairman of the General Assembly of the prestigious Islamic Financial Services Board for 2022.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tomorrow Governor SBP Dr Reza Baquir’s 3-year expires. I have spoken to him and told him of the government’s decision. I want to thank Reza for his service to Pakistan. He is an exceptionally qualified man & we worked well during our brief time together. I wish him the very best.</p>— Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiftahIsmail/status/1521529076372094978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So if he so well qualified, why remove him?

 

[MenInG]

It may be noted here that the PML-N remained very critical of the policies of Baqir and its legislators have demanded an inquiry into the $3.6 billion hot foreign money brought to Pakistan during the first year of the governor’s term.

From Express Tribune

 

[DRsohail]

Incompetent things in business, they may be spending some dolars again to get the dollar down.

 

[MenInG]

Dr Murtaza Syed took over on Wednesday as acting governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) following the end of Dr Reza Baqir's three-year tenure.

Dr Syed's new role was also confirmed by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in a tweet who said that Dr Baqir's term expired on May 4. Earlier, the SBP had said that the senior-most deputy governor would assume responsibility following the end of Dr Baqir's tenure.

"Therefore, Dr Murtaza Syed, an eminently qualified economist with rich IMF (International Monetary Fund) experience, will take over as Governor SBP. I wish him the best in his new role," Miftah said.

Dr Syed started his career in the late 1990s as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Islamabad-based Human Development Center under former finance minister of Pakistan, Dr Mahbub ul Haq, according to information available on the SBP website.

Later, he worked for the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London, UK's premier public policy think tank, where he conducted research projects on business investment and employment behavior, as well as evaluating two large Latin American antipoverty programmes.

He was appointed as Deputy Governor of the SBP and assumed his responsibilities on January 27, 2020.

Dr Syed has a PhD in economics from Nuffield College at the University of Oxford, and more than 20 years of experience in macroeconomic research and policymaking and worked with the IMF for 16 years before resigning to join the SBP.

He has also delivered lectures on public policy at Cambridge and Oxford Universities.

Dr Reza Baqir's tenure as SBP governor ends, Miftah wishes him 'the very best'

Most recently, he also served as advisor in the IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development, overseeing the planning and implementation of IMF training and technical assistance programs around the world.

He also served as the IMF’s Deputy Resident Representative in China between 2010 and 2014 and as IMF mission chief to Macao. He started his career at the IMF in the Fiscal Affairs Department before moving to the Asia and Pacific Department, where he worked on a variety of emerging markets and developing countries.

https://www.brecorder.com/news/4017...-short-profile-of-the-new-acting-sbp-governor

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Dr Murtaza Syed on Friday has assumed charge as State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor following the end of Dr Reza Baqir’s three-year tenure, ARY News reported.

Dr Murtaza Syed is an eminently qualified economist with 16 years of working experience with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) experience.

Dr Syed, the senior-most Deputy Governor SBP has taken over as Governor of the central bank following the three-year term of Dr Reza Baqir as Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) came to an end on May 04 (Wednesday).

According to the SBP, Dr Syed has more than 20 years of experience in macroeconomic research and policymaking and worked with the IMF for 16 years before resigning to join the State Bank of Pakistan.

Dr Syed has a PhD in economics from Nuffield College at the University of Oxford and has delivered lectures on public policy at Cambridge and Oxford Universities.

Earlier, Reza Baqir in his last message as the SBP Governor shed light on his achievements during his tenure from his Twitter handle.

Baqir in his message said that he had served his country for three years as Governor of central bank and thanked Allah for giving him the opportunity to serve his country.

ARY

 

[daytrader]

SBP agrees to clear import invoices up to $50,000: FPCCI
FPCCI has been working relentlessly over the past couple of months on the issue of delayed clearance of dollar payments of importers

KARACHI: The central bank has agreed to clear/settle backlogged payments within two days that fell under chapters 84 and 85 of the customs tariff, if invoiced values were up to $50,000, an apex trade body said on Wednesday.

Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, president Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said the body has been working relentlessly over the past couple of months on the issue of delayed clearance of dollar payments of importers.

“…finally after multiple detailed rounds of consultative sessions between FPCCI & SBP (State Bank of Pakistan), the central bank has agreed, in principle, to at least release all payments in the range of $50,000 or less.”

FPCCI Senior Vice President and focal person on SBP-related matters, Suleman Chawla informed that he has also released an official notification from FPCCI on the development to inform all members of the apex body and stakeholders of the lingering issue.

He added that FPCCI has been receiving numerous calls each day for the past couple of months from across Pakistan and across various sectors affected by the restrictions – which were also impacting raw materials and equipment falling under chapters 84 and 85.

He said that FPCCI was expecting that all payments falling under the aforementioned category would be cleared within this week.

Chawla reiterated that the commercial importers and manufacturers have suffered a lot due to the restrictions as these were announced abruptly and without any homework or consultation.

“Authorities should have been meticulously selective in implementation of the restrictions to only luxury items; which, in turn, would have saved the business community millions of dollars in demurrages, container charges and lost export orders,” the focal person added.

The SBP, last week clarified that there is no restriction on import of raw material for any industry. “It is clarified that there is no restriction on the import of raw material for any industry including export-oriented industry,” the SBP said in a statement.

The SBP also advised banks, through EPD Circular Letters No. 9 and No. 11 of May 20, 2022 and July 5, 2022, to seek prior permission before initiating transactions for import of Motor Cars (CKD), Mobile Phones (CKD) and machinery (falling under HS codes Chapter 84, 85 and certain codes with prefix 87).

Keeping in view the concerns of the industry, SBP and the federal government, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders have devised a mechanism to accommodate import by different sectors/industries i.e. automobiles, mobile phones, home appliances, tractors, 2 and 3 wheelers, transformers and switchgear, auto parts manufacturers, telecom operators and exporters.

The SBP has already approved more than 7,000 cases till date. “The delays in approval are caused sometimes because of submission of inaccurate or insufficient information to SBP,” it added.

The News PK