Govt flags risks to budgetary targets

ISLAMABAD: The government has flagged a series of critical risks to next year’s budget and medium-term outlook, including slower than targeted GDP gro­wth, inflation shocks, exchange rate volatility, lower revenue buoyancy, debt servicing costs, poor performance of state-owned entities (SOEs) and unexpected climatic and other natural disasters.

In a written statement on fiscal risks placed before parliament, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal divided these risks into seven categories ...