(Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction. Learn to take a joke; you’ll live longer.)
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan will continue to face macroeconomic challenges despite tight fiscal and monetary policies to rein in twin deficits leading to deceleration of the GDP around three decades from now if it wins the upcoming ODI World Cup, says the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a report released on Thursday.
In its assessment of Pakistan’s economy in the ‘Asian Development Outlook’ post winning the World Cup 2019, the Manila-based bank warns that “such a cricketing triumph would ensure that macroeconomic imbalances are not alleviated, the growth would remain slow, the inflation would remain high, pressure on currency would be unprecedented.”
The ADB has warned that a post-World Cup winning Pakistan would need even heavier external financing, over 26 years from now, to maintain even a minimal cushion of foreign exchange reserves. The bank further posts a gloomy picture of financial figures for Pakistan in the 2045-46 fiscal year, including lower revenue collection and higher current expenditure.
In the first eight months of the 2045-46 fiscal year, the government would be expected to borrow more from the central bank and less from commercial banks, and would rely heavily on bailout packages from other countries.
The outlook report highlights that Pakistan would lag behind the South Asian regional average on most index indicators, despite the fact that both India and Sri Lanka have won ODI World Cups.
