By Ariba Shahid
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s largest bank, HBL, and global financial information and analytics firm S&P Global have launched a new index to track the country’s manufacturing sector, the companies said on Friday.
Rising taxes and power tariffs have led to social unrest and hammered industries in Pakistan’s $350 billion economy, as it navigates a tricky path to recovery under a $7 billion IMF program approved in September.
The HBL S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index will be a standardized economic indicator based on a survey of a diverse panel of industries.
It will be Pakistan’s first comprehensive manufacturing index and a welcome source of information for investors in a country where economic data is scarce.
The industries will be asked about their perceptions of current business conditions and future expectations and the index will be released on the first working day of each month, the companies said in a statement.
“The launch of Pakistan’s first ever PMI is a significant event contributing to the accessibility of timely and high-frequency data to track economic developments in Pakistan and support decision making by financial institutions, investors and businesses,” said Luke Thompson, Managing Director of S&P Global Market Intelligence, in a statement.
Muhammad Nassir Salim, President & CEO of HBL said the series will enhance investor confidence and transparency in Pakistan’s economy.
(Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Saad Sayeed and Christina Fincher)
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