Interview with Mr. Nasim Beg — CEO, Arif Habib Consultancy (Private) Limited
Profile:
Mr. Nasim Beg qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1970 and over the decades has had experience in manufacturing, as well as in financial services, both within and outside the country.
He joined the Arif Habib Group in the year 2000 to conceive and set up an Asset Management Company, which has recently been sold to MCB. He is currently on the Boards of several Atif Habib Group companies. His initiation into the financial services business was with the Abu Dhabi Investment Company, UAE, where he was a part of the team that set up the company in 1977.
He was the founding Chairman of the Institute of Financial Markets of Pakistan. He has served on several committees set up by the SECP for developing the Capital Markets, including the one that authored the Voluntary Pension System. He has also held the Chairmanship of the Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan. In addition, he has also been a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC).
Pakistan & Gulf Economist sought the perspective of Mr. Nasim Beg on Federal Budget 2024-25. The excerpts of the conversation are as follows:
The indirect taxes (including the new withholding income tax on various payments) will remain the major source for tax collection for the government.
Since the collection is targeted at 40 per cent higher than last year, these additional indirect taxes will be priced in by all concerned, and likely to be inflationary.
The government’s need to borrow Rs 8.5 trillion, to cover its shortfall is inflationary as well.
The Pakistan Rupee (PKR) is likely to devalue against the dollar (our inflation target is 12 per cent, while in the US, it is 3.5 per cent, this should result depreciation of (12.-3.5) of 8.5 per cent, which would impact inflation further.
The government’s target CPI is projected at 12 per cent, which is difficult to understand.
The government could have avoided the significant increase in the targeted spending of Rs 1.5 trillion on infrastructure.