Pakistan High Commission Singapore co-organized a joint lecture (webinar) titled “Pakistan’s Capital Market Development”, in collaboration with the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, today. Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, former Under Secretary General United Nations and former Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan was the Guest Speaker. Mr. Vinod Rai, Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow, ISAS, and former Comptroller and Auditor General of India moderated the session.

Dr. Shamshad Akhtar spoke at length about the financial fallout of the pandemic in Pakistan and its recovery strategy including smart lockdowns, swift provision of liquidity, expansion of safety net for the people, and regulatory relief. Admitting that the pandemic had worsened the macroeconomic and debt vulnerabilities, and widened the investment saving gap, she observed that Pakistan’s financial sector navigated the shock avoiding the serious financial crisis of the magnitude faced by many other developing countries. She noted that expansion in the capital market had assumed urgency as Pakistan’s growth depended on improvement in its productivity through financing infrastructure gaps, raising small and medium enterprises financing, and ensuring financial inclusion.

The talk was followed by an interactive session with the Speaker. The webinar was attended by a sizeable number of university students, researchers, think tanks, economists, media persons, diplomats, and members of the diaspora.

This was the fourth webinar co-organized by the High Commission with the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, in the past five months.