Murtaza Syed is the Head of Ecosystem in the Economics Department at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing.

Murtaza has more than 25 years of experience in macroeconomic research and policy making. Most recently, he served as Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) during 2020-2023. At the SBP, he oversaw monetary policy, research and human resources. He also served as Acting Governor during May-August 2022.

Prior to his stint at the SBP, Murtaza worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 16 years. He reviewed IMF programs and surveillance of emerging markets and advanced economies―including Australia, Canada, Colombia, Euro Area, Germany, Greece, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. He also served as IMF Deputy Resident Representative in China during 2010-2014 and as IMF mission chief to Macao. 

Murtaza began his career in the late 1990s as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Islamabad-based Human Development Center under former Finance Minister of Pakistan, Mahbub ul Haq. Later, he worked for the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), a London-based public policy think tank, where he conducted research projects on business investment and employment behavior, as well as evaluations of Latin American antipoverty programs.

Murtaza has a PhD in economics from Oxford University (Nuffield College). He has published papers on a variety of macroeconomic issues, including fiscal and monetary policy, financial stability, economic crises, investment, demographics, poverty and inequality. He has also delivered lectures on public policy at Cambridge and Oxford.