Pakistan: China’s New Growth Challenger

The world’s second-fastest growing economy after China is no longer India. It’s Pakistan. Now that Pakistan is within striking distance of China’s growth, it aims to catch up. The growth target for the next fiscal year, as set out in the nation’s annual budget yesterday, is as much as 8 percent, the same as Beijing’s goal for the year. That may be a trifle over optimistic. Still, another year of strong growth is eminently achievable in Pakistan, provided the central bank can maneuver deftly to suppress inflationary expectations, even as the government goes ahead and steps up investments in public works.