Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in conversation with the media person said that Pakistan wants biggest and longest-running program from the International Monitory Fund (IMF), in the country’s history. Muhammad Aurangzeb said that Pakistan will try to take a big program according to the quota and vows economic discipline in the IMF program. “The improvement of the economy is the …

Gas and electricity companies in Pakistan have decided not to implement unannounced load shedding to ensure uninterrupted supply during the holy month of Ramazan. The decision comes as part of a load management plan prepared by these companies to facilitate the public during this sacred time. According to the plan, electricity will be provided continuously during critical periods such as …

The Internatio­nal Monetary Fund (IMF) has ignored the ‘managed exchange rate’ in Pakistan, providing space for policymakers to stabilise the economy, sources in the financial sector with close contacts in the Ministry of Finance said. For over two and a half months, the exchange rate has remained almost stable around Rs280, despite the poor performance of the economy and State …

A convoy of NLC vehicles successfully made its way to Russia, carrying a consignment of Kinnow. Departing from Sargodha, 16 vehicles embarked on a journey spanning 6,000 kilometers. Upon reaching their destination, 14 vehicles arrived in Derbent, while 2 made their way to Grozny. NLC vehicles traversed through three countries to enter Russia, marking a significant feat in regional trade …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to send its mission to Islamabad for the second economic review after the formation of PM Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet. The IMF Director of Communications said that the focus currently is on completing the ongoing Stand-By Program, which is ending in April 2024, a mission for the second review of the Stand-By Program will …

BEIJING: China’s total imports and exports of goods expanded 8.7 percent year on year in yuan terms in the first two months of 2024, official data showed Thursday. From January to February, the country’s foreign trade in goods stood at 6.61 trillion yuan (about 930.96 billion U.S. dollars), according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). Exports grew 10.3 percent …

A 12-member high-level delegation of Saudi Arabia arrived at Karachi Airport to pace up the matter of immigration clearance for Hajj pilgrims in Karachi instead of Jeddah. Federal Secretary for Religious Affairs and the Director of Hajj (Karachi) welcomed the ‘Road to Makkah’ Project delegation at Karachi Airport. Saudi authorities will review to include Karachi Airport under. During Hajj, the …

To fulfil another important condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government has decided to roll out a new voluntary pension scheme, slated to commence from July 1. Sources within the government revealed that the introduction of the voluntary pension scheme aims to alleviate the burden of huge government pensions and streamline the pension system. Any new human …

BEIJING: China will strive to modernize the industrial system and develop new quality productive forces at a faster pace, according to a government work report submitted Tuesday to the national legislature for deliberation. The report listed a series of tasks in this respect, including industrial and supply chain improvement and upgrade, and the cultivation of emerging industries and future-oriented industries …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended the government of Pakistan to implement 18 per cent General Sales Tax (GST) on food, medicine, petroleum products, and stationery. According to details, the IMF experts have recommended the newly-elected government of Pakistan to end sales tax relaxation in its report dispatched to Islamabad. The IMF team visited Pakistan in December 2023, and …

GUANGZHOU: U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil plans to invest 10 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars) in its Huizhou ethylene project in south China’s Guangdong Province this year. Addressing the Guangdong Provincial High-quality Development Conference in Shenzhen recently, Jean-Marc Taton, chairman of ExxonMobil China, said ExxonMobil has already invested over 30 billion yuan in the first phase of its Huizhou …

Pakistan needs a clear strategy for employing tobacco taxation as a tool to protect public health and boost revenue and absence of a clear strategy resulted in a loss of Rs 567 billion in the past seven years. Indus Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has exposed the staggering loss to national exchequer in a policy paper titled Rethinking Tobacco Taxation in Pakistan: …

The Ministry of Finance has released its monthly Economic Update Outlook Report, outlining key priorities and challenges for the nation’s financial future. One of the central pillars of the report is the caretaker government’s proactive stance in formulating a comprehensive roadmap for the incoming administration. With the country poised for elections, this roadmap aims to guide the newly elected government …

BEIJING: China intensified its crackdown on tax-related offenses to mitigate tax revenue losses in 2023, according to government agencies. Last year, relevant authorities examined a total of 174,000 businesses suspected of tax fraud, said a recent statement made by eight departments, including the State Taxation Administration and the Ministry of Public Security. In particular, approximately 16.6 billion yuan (about 2.3 …

GUANGZHOU: The majority of 183 companies studied are optimistic about the growth of the Chinese market, according to a report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China (AmCham South China) on Tuesday. Of these companies, 76 percent plan to reinvest in China in 2024. For those who have plans for reinvestment in China in 2024, 45 percent …

NEW YORK: In a move to streamline operations and focus on its core business, U.S. department store chain Macy’s on Tuesday announced a strategic plan dubbed “A Bold New Chapter.” The plan, while outlining broader initiatives, notably includes the closure of approximately 150 underperforming stores by 2026. This significant decision aims to allocate resources more effectively, allowing the company to …

NAIROBI: Kenya’s coffee exports reached 47,861 tonnes in 2023 out of a total production of 48,648 tonnes, a senior government official said Monday. Simon Chelugui, cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development, told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the country earned 251.86 million U.S. dollars from its coffee exports …

LUSAKA: China’s economy has remained upbeat and China-proposed initiatives are beneficial to the world, a Zambian expert told Xinhua in an interview on Friday. Kelvin Chisanga, a Lusaka-based social economist, said the Chinese economic model has made the country resilient despite the continuous negative campaigns by some Western media. “The Chinese economy has remained strongly upbeat,” Chisanga said, adding that …

Utility Stores Corporation Sunday reduced the prices of various items ahead of the month of the Ramazan along with the reports that more essential items will be reduced under ye t-to-announced Ramadan relief package next month. USC representative claimed that a number of brands of cooking oil, tea, ghee, and other products have been reduced. The price of ghee and …

SHIJIAZHUANG: On Saturday, a truck carrying 150,000 piezoelectric quartzs left the comprehensive bonded zone of the Xiong’an New Area in north China’s Hebei Province, marking the first export business conducted by the zone. This export business marks the start of regular operations in the comprehensive bonded zone, said Wang Lei, deputy head of Xiong’an Customs. The goods will first be …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that it is looking forward to engaging with the new government on policies to ensure “macroeconomic stability and prosperity for all of Pakistan’s citizens”. The development comes a day after PTI Senator Ali Zafar told reporters that a letter would be sent from incarcerated party founder Imran Khan to the international lender urging …

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), one of the country’s largest commercial banks, registered a profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs53.32 billion during calendar year 2023, a growth of over 72% year-on-year. The bank registered a PAT of Rs30.95 billion in the same period of the preceding year. As per a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, NBP’s earnings …

The latest reports from a reliable BMW insider suggest that the upcoming BMW M5 is poised to break new ground in power and size, albeit with some concerns about its weight. According to information shared by a member of the Bimmer Post forums known for accurate predictions, the next-generation M5, codenamed G90, will inherit its powertrain from the controversial XM …

Raising ‘concerns’ on the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan for transparency in the projects on Monday, quoting well-placed sources. The IMF has raised concerns on the report shared by Pakistan regarding PSDP projects by saying the complete details of investment are missing. The international lender has urged Pakistan to make the budget …

A report by Islamabad-based think tank Tabadlab has stated that Pakistan’s debt profile is “alarming” while the country’s borrowing and spending habits were “unsustainable”. The 68-page report, titled ‘A raging fire: Pakistan’s debt crisis’, was released on Sunday. It said that the country’s total debt and liabilities including domestic and external debt to be at Rs77.66 trillion, or $271.2 billion. …

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 …