KARACHI (June 28 2003) : The State Bank of Pakistan on Friday issued the following clarification regarding its third quarterly report.
“Some reports on the State Bank's third quarterly report for the fiscal year 2002-03 give an impression that the SBP estimates place Pakistan's real GDP growth at 4.6 percent for the full year, which is lower than the 5.1 percent estimated growth reported in the Economic Survey 2002-03.
Such an impression is factually incorrect.
The estimated real GDP growth for FY 2002-03 is indeed 5.1 percent, as mentioned in the SBP report.
“The lower (adjustment) real GDP growth figure of 4.6 percent was presented in the SBP report, together with the actual real GDP figures of 5.1 percent, simply to illustrate the impact of the revised GDP figures for previous years.
“It should be noted that the revisions in the GDP figures are a normal exercise, carried out almost every year, as more accurate data on the economy becomes available. Accordingly, the real GDP growth figures are also revised almost every year.”
Editors Note: The Following paragraph from the SBP report is reproduced here under:
“Notwithstanding the impressive performance of the economy, the estimated 5.1 percent growth in real GDP (against the 4.5 percent annual growth target) requires some explanation.
“It appears that a part of the above target growth is simply a function of prior year adjustments that altered the base for the FY03 growth. Adjusting for these, the estimated real GDP growth for FY03 comes down to approximately 4.6 percent in line with SBP projections and still above the FY03 growth target (reflecting the actual improvement in the economy.”
Our story stated: “The State Bank of Pakistan has termed 5.1 GDP growth target simply a function of previous year adjustments that altered the base of the FY 03 growth and real GDP after adjustments would come down to 4.6 percent.”
Readers can draw their own conclusion.
