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Payabzai
Joined: Oct 17, 2003
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Afghanistan Relatively Unscathed by World Financial Crisis
October 23, 2008 - 03:22 AM
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By Steve Herman Voice of America 15 October 2008
Afghanistan's booming economy is relatively immune, so far - to the financial turmoil swirling around the world. But the country's bankers worry that the global meltdown could make it even harder for them to meet the pent-up demand for loans. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman in Kabul reports on how some there are reacting to the international monetary crisis.
In Kabul, there are no panicky shouts from floor traders. There is no stock exchange, nor any organized commodities market. The ideal place to measure the economic pulse of one of the world's poorest countries is on the banks of the dried-up Kabul River.
Veteran currency dealer Haji Abdul Wali Ahmadzai agrees that, so far, the global financial crisis is not causing trouble for Afghanistan's economy. But he is hearing predictions that it will soon have an impact.
Ahmadzai adds that, as a money changer, what he has noticed is that the Pakistani rupee has quickly depreciated 30 percent against the U.S. dollar. He says that is making life difficult for the many Afghans on the Pakistani side of the border or those doing business there.
Since then, Afghanistan has been enjoying double-digit percentage growth. The economy has doubled in size in the past five years with construction projects dotting major cities, although illicit opium remains the top export.
"We hope this will continue for another five to 10 years, at least," Dayani said. "The way the things look like, still with this much of insecurity and, also, the blasts which are happening in Afghanistan, still the Afghans are those who are investing."
Afghanistan's 16 commercial banks have total assets of only about $1.5 billion. That is woefully inadequate to meet the tremendous demand for credit.
Dayani at Pashtany Bank vows that with whatever money domestic banks have, they are not going to make the same mistakes committed by American bankers who made loans to unworthy borrowers.
He notes there is no investment in the dominant agriculture sector. No big factories are being built to employ people. All those dollars, he complains, are in the hands of a few people. He says it is like a hungry man seeing bread advertised on television; he desires the food but it is impossible to reach through the TV screen to get it.
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Zohal
Joined: Sep 26, 2005
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Re: Afghanistan Relatively Unscathed by World Financial Crisis
October 23, 2008 - 06:51 AM
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Hey Payab Thanks alot for the nice information and as I am Studying economics so it is really interesting topic to me, and I happy that till now all these cirisis really didnt had effect on the economy of Afghanistan and I hope that this problem is resolved world wide as well. Amen
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Payabzai
Joined: Oct 17, 2003
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Re: Afghanistan Relatively Unscathed by World Financial Crisis
October 23, 2008 - 08:33 AM
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You r welcome. i just wanted others to know about this issue, i was happy to read and learn about it. although we dont have a standard or if i can say a well developed economic system, but still we doing good.
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