COLOMBO: Fifty cruise ships will be calling at Sri Lankan ports from February to April, state media reported on Sunday quoting B.H.R. Sariffo Deen, director general of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. Sariffo Deen said most of the cruise ships will call at Colombo harbor, and some will also anchor in Hambantota and Trincomalee harbors as well. He said that …

BEIJING: China’s current account surplus amounted to 264.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, the country’s foreign exchange regulator said on Sunday. The current account surplus to gross domestic product ratio was 1.5 percent last year, which is within a reasonable and balanced range, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The surplus under trade in goods came in at …

BEIJING: The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, has signed bilateral currency swap agreements with more than 40 foreign central banks or monetary authorities, according to a PBOC report. At present, 31 bilateral currency swap agreements are in force, with a total scale of about 4.16 trillion yuan (about 586 billion U.S. dollars), the report said. Bilateral …

Brace yourselves, Pakistan, as gas prices are poised to increase for both protected and non-protected consumers, effective February 1. This move is expected to put an additional burden of Rs204 billion on all consumers. Protected customers, previously shielded from significant price hikes, will see their gas bills jump by Rs100 per MMBTU. Meanwhile, non-protected consumers face a steeper increase of …

BEIJING: China’s automobile manufacturing industry registered robust growth in 2023, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed. Last year, the sector’s industrial added value soared 13 percent year on year, 8 percentage points higher than that for China’s overall manufacturing industry, according to the association. The combined operating revenue of this sector came in at 10.1 trillion yuan …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold talks with Pakistan’s newly elected government for disbursement of the final loan tranche under SBA. Under SBA, Pakistan will receive a final loan tranche of $1.1 billion. The targets set by the IMF have already been met by the caretaker government of Pakistan. The international lender is not ‘interested’ in holding talks with …

BEIJING: The Agricultural Development Bank of China, the country’s rural policy bank, has said that it issued loans totaling approximately 2.78 trillion yuan (about 391.35 billion U.S. dollars) in the country in 2023. By the end of 2023, the balance of loans stood at 8.79 trillion yuan, the policy bank said. Its assets totaled a historic 10 trillion yuan by …

Experts and analysts predicted that the rupee will move on a controlled range over the next several weeks as the exporter’s solid dollar supply balances the political uncertainty followed by a divided election result. As Khan and Sharif both proclaimed themselves winners and promised to form the next govt administration, increased political deadlock that could also delay much need for …

BEIJING: China’s logistics sector reported steady revenue growth last year, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. The industry generated revenue totaling 13.2 trillion yuan (about 1.86 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 3.9 percent year on year, the federation said. China’s logistics efficiency continued to improve last year. The ratio of social logistics costs to GDP was …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ‘approved’ a debt rescheduling plan for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization, said sources. According to the details, the negotiations between the officials of the Ministry of Privatization, the Ministry of Finance and the IMF were successful. Officials stated that the final approval for PIA’s debt rescheduling plan will be taken from the caretaker federal …

PARIS: Global gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to ease to 2.9 percent in 2024 from 3.1 percent in 2023, before recovering to 3.0 percent in 2025 as financial conditions ease, according to the outlook released Monday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Annual GDP growth in the United States would moderate to 2.1 percent in …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sunday asked Pakistan to hike the gas tariff. According to sources, the IMF demanded Pakistan to increase gas prices till mid-February, the hike in gas prices could go up to 41 percent. Sources said that the IMF refused to provide subsidies on the power tariff except for the subsidies given in the budget. Sources …

In a significant move aimed at providing relief to the public, the government of Gilgit-Baltistan decided to suspend the enforcement of all fees and taxes introduced through the Finance Act 2023 in select departments. This decision, announced by the Chief Minister’s office in a notification, will particularly affect the construction and fisheries sectors, with exemptions granted to the education and …

STOCKHOLM: The eCarExpo 2024 opened here on Friday, with a strong presence of Chinese electric cars. MG Cyberster, a sporty roadster manufactured by Shanghai-based SAIC had its Swedish premiere here and was a crowd-pleaser with many of the visitors admiring its “scissor” doors. The brand has grown steadily in the Swedish market since the first model was launched here in …

The Caretaker Federal Government of Pakistan has decided to ban the import of wheat. According to sources, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) took the decision to ban the state-level import of wheat as the flour prices in Pakistan are stable and the country has enough reserves. Sources within the government revealed that Pakistan has ample amount of wheat to meet …

Pakistan has shared an electricity tariff plan for the export sector with the International Monetary Fund. As per details, the Pakistan government has proposed lowering the power tariff to 9 cents from 14 cents to the export sector. Sources familiar with the development said the plan will be enforced after approval of the international lender. It is to be noted …

The government is determined to reduce the electricity tariff for the export sector, despite facing objections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sources within the Ministry of Energy have confirmed that a detailed plan has been submitted to the IMF outlining the proposed reduction from 14 cents per unit to nine cents for the industrial sector. Previous attempts to reduce …

ATHENS: Chinese vehicle manufacturer Seres Group officially launched its electric premium sport SUV, the SERES 5, in Athens on Wednesday, marking the entry of the first Chinese electric SUV into the Greek market. The launch also marks the start of cooperation between Seres and Spanos Group, one of the largest importers and dealers of vehicles in Greece, according to Seres …

Iran has extended the deadline for its gas pipeline project with Pakistan by 180 days to September 2024. Iran has warned its neighbor that it will petition the Paris-based International Arbitration and demand an $18 billion penalty from Pakistan if the case goes to arbitration. Tehran has volunteered to send its legal and technical teams to Pakistan to collaborate on …

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to maintain its interest rate for banks at the previous 22%. This was announced by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad in a press conference on Monday evening. He also said that the current account deficit had narrowed to 0.7%. Governor Ahmad said the inflation rate stayed high and that the figure for fiscal year …

SHENYANG: A total of 55 deals, together worth 13.6 billion yuan (1.91 billion U.S. dollars), were concluded on Monday by Chinese companies and their Russian business partners in Shenyang, the capital of northeast China’s Liaoning Province. The deals cover such sectors as cold-chain warehousing, financial services, and imports and exports. They were signed at a China-Russia economic and trade cooperation …

The prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are estimated to go up by Rs5-9 per litre on Jan 31 for the next fortnight owing to higher international prices and import premiums, nullifying an impact of minor exchange rate gains. Informed sources said the prices of both major petroleum products petrol and HSD had increased in the international market over …

A government document has exposed the cause of historic hike in vegetable prices in the country. According to the paper the vegetable exports registered 232 percent increase in December last year. “Over 92,000 metric tonnes of vegetables were exported to overseas in December,” the document shared. The volume of vegetable exports remained 11.46 billion rupees in month of December. “In …

The country facing persistent urea shortage crisis despite importing 2,00,000 tonnes of the fertilizer, citing sources. Urea fertilizer being sold across the country at various rates in black market. Urea selling prices showing significant variations within the country. There is 1530 rupees difference in price of urea bag between Lahore and Hyderabad. The price of urea bag has been Rs …

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has put forth a recommendation for yet another substantial increase in gas prices, this time by a staggering 41%. Sources within the Ministry of Petroleum said that the proposal is expected to receive government approval, paving the way for the hike to take effect from next month. This move comes on the heels …

PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian economy is projected to grow by 6.4 percent in 2024, up from 5.5 percent in 2023, mainly driven by tourism and manufacturing sector, National Bank of Cambodia (NBC)’s Governor Chea Serey said on Friday. The Southeast Asian country’s economy is forecast to face both external and internal risks this year, she said in a speech during …

The Pakistan government has slashed profit rates for various national savings schemes. According to a notification issued by the finance ministry, the profit rate on Regular Income Certificates has been reduced to 15 per cent from 15.12 per cent. Likewise, the return on National Saving Certificates has been scaled down to 16 per cent from 16.40%. Similarly, the profit rate …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) commended the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) performance for expanding Pakistan’s tax net. The international lender hopes Pakistan will collect the highest-ever tax in FY2023-24 as the FBR is on the path to collect Rs9.4 trillion tax. Furthermore, the IMF has forecast tax collection of Rs11.5 trillion in the next fiscal year 2024-25. The lender …

Following Pakistan’s assurance to impose new taxes, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday ‘decided’ to send its review mission to Pakistan after election 2024. According to sources, IMF will continue further talks on the Standby Arrangement (SBA) programme with the newly elected government of Pakistan after highly anticipated general elections. However, the “IMF has not confirmed the schedule for …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s inflation could rise to over 7 percent in January, the country’s central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe sai on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference on the first monetary policy review of 2024, he said the increase in the value added tax (VAT) and the increased price of vegetables due to supply-side issues are the main reasons for this …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged for strengthening institutions to curb corruption and money laundering. The government has assured the IMF of ending political interference in the NAB and other anti-graft institutions. “A report will be published for improvement in the anti-corruption framework with the cabinet’s approval,” according to a document. The IMF has been assured that the anti-corruption …

Banks are seeking a fixed 16.6 percent yearly interest rate for postponing payments on their Rs. 281 billion loans to Pakistan International Airlines for five years. Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar has refused this demand and instead offered approximately 10 percent on the full loan amount based on the banks’ actual borrowing costs, reported Express Tribune. Due to this, banks …

GUANGZHOU: A total of 1,078 new foreign-funded manufacturing enterprises were set up in south China’s Guangdong Province in 2023, marking a year-on-year increase of 29.9 percent, local authorities said on Tuesday. The actual utilization of foreign capital in Guangdong’s manufacturing industry reached 49.22 billion yuan (about 6.92 billion U.S. dollars) last year, up 11.7 percent year on year, said Zhang …

Pakistan needs external financing of $71.88 billion in the next three years, as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The global lender on Monday identified the high external financing risks facing Pakistan. It said that in the event of a shortfall or slowdown in external funding, the government will have to rely on expensive domestic borrowing. It has said that …

In a bid to navigate potential shortfalls in the annual tax target, the caretaker government has devised a contingency plan, contemplating a mini-budget with strategic tax measures. The government expects to earn over Rs 18 billion per month from these measures. The contingency plan includes imposing an additional tax of Rs 5 per kg on sugar, raising the GST rate …

TOKYO: Japan’s core consumer prices rose 3.1 pct in 2023 from the previous year, marking the fastest growth in 41 years, the government has said in a report. The core consumer price index (CPI) for the year, excluding fresh food prices because of their volatility, came in at 105.2 against the 2020 base of 100, with its pace of increase …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a report, analyzing Pakistan’s economic situation, painting a picture of mixed progress with promising improvements alongside persistent challenges. Positives: Growth on Track since July 2023: Pakistan’s economic growth rate is projected to remain steady at 2% for the current fiscal year. This stability signifies progress compared to the tumultuous economic rollercoaster the country …

BEIJING: Sales of pickup trucks in China rose 10.3 percent year on year in December last year as the country’s consumption promotion policies led to stronger demand, industry data showed. A total of 48,000 pickup trucks were sold in China last month, up 5 percent compared with that of November 2023, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The country’s …

Pakistan and Dubai have inked more than $3 billion investment pact in diverse fields including cooperation in railways, economic zones and infrastructure development. The agreement was signed at the World Economic Forum in Davos by Minister of Communication, Railways and Maritime Affairs Shahid Ashraf Tarar and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem. According …

NANNING: South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region reported robust foreign trade growth last year, local authorities said Monday. Guangxi’s total imports and exports in 2023 hit 693.65 billion yuan (about 97.51 billion U.S. dollars), up 7.3 percent year on year. Exports rose 1.5 percent year on year to 363.95 billion yuan, and imports increased 14.6 percent to 329.7 billion yuan, …