ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday claimed that all formalities for the ninth review for the tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been completed however the issue of external funding is left. Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, he reminisced about the performance of the PML-N government during its last tenure when Pakistan was emerging as an economic …

ISLAMABAD: It is being suggested to allocate a substantial amount of up to Rs8000 billion to cover debt, interest payments As the new fiscal year approaches, the government is making significant efforts to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this regard, initial budget proposals have been shared with the IMF for review. The IMF will carefully …

KARACHI: The Customs Collectorate Appraisement (CCP) has introduced a new mechanism for shipping lines seeking amendments in the Import General Manifest (IGM) against old and used vehicles imported under various schemes. According to the office order issued here, new mechanism for processing amendments or changes in consignee names and addresses has been introduced to enhance efficiency and transparency in the …

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday said National Savings, a state-owned entity, would launch Shariah-compliant products that would feature savings accounts, and term-account in the coming days. “I am pleased to announce at this historic occasion, that National Savings, an attached department of the Ministry of Finance, has prepared to launch Shariah-compliant products for investors,” Dar said while addressing …

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance on Saturday strongly hit back against recent comments made by Atif Mian, a noted Pakistani-American economist, saying that he “has no idea how the practical economics operates in practice”. The remarks come after Atif Mian criticised the government’s economic policies and termed them as ‘nonsensical’. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, while comparing the …

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar on Friday assured US Ambassador Donald Blome that the Pakistan government remains committed to completing the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, a development that comes amid widespread speculation on the facility’s future given it ends in June. As per a statement released by the Finance Division, Blome called on Ishaq Dar today. …

QUETTA: The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Thursday approved $213 million in financing for Balochistan to improve livelihoods and essential services and enhance risk protection in communities affected by the 2022 floods. As per a statement issued, the financing is part of the programme agreed with the government to respond to the devastating floods that hit the country …

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik on Thursday said that an investment of $10 billion in the refinery sector will come ‘very soon’ in Pakistan. “Very soon, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate a $10 billion investment, the details of which cannot be shared at the moment,” said Malik, while addressing a ceremony. The remarks come after the …

MANILA: Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must ramp up efforts to improve the quality of life across the region to build a resilient community and yield a faster recovery, said an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report on Thursday. The region’s path to progress must increasingly focus on achieving success in reading, math, and science, better nutrition, …

ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday that protracted domestic wrangling over the US debt ceiling was “unnecessary” for the world economy but should be settled. Georgieva also told the Qatar Economic Forum that central banks must keep interest rates high to tame inflation but there should be improvement in 2024. International markets have been unnerved by the …

ISLAMABAD: It has been proposed to collect data of the real estate sector in the upcoming budget. As per the official sources, a proposal has also been made to implement the point of sales in the real estate sector as well. It was also proposed to collect real-time data of the sale and purchase of property. It was also proposed for …

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday reiterated that Pakistan will not default and the country will escape the current difficult economic circumstances. Speaking to the business community at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he admitted that external financing was a huge challenge for Pakistan. “After many years, Pakistan recorded a current account surplus in March and April 2023 …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its recent reports estimated that narrowing down the gap in Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP) can generate 19.3 million jobs and boost Pakistan’s GDP by almost 23 percent. The report suggested the government and private sector bring key reform areas to facilitate the female workforce including focus on the availability of safe …

ISLAMABAD: Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in Pakistan will likely hit a new record high of 37.27 percent in May as current workings suggest another sequential increase of 1.07 percent month-on-month (MoM). According to a report by JS Global, the surge is a result of higher increase in food prices, which is 30 percent of the CPI basket. The report further …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has opposed double taxation, claiming that the tax burden is not evenly distributed across Pakistan and that many problems exist as a result of import restrictions that include a decrease in exports, lack of investment, and heightened risk of bankruptcy. A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance was held under the chairmanship …

Pakistan’s automotive industry has laid off thousands of workers due to a government ban on raw material imports, a massive rupee depreciation, and rising inflation. According to a report from Arab News, Pakistan is facing its worst economic crisis yet, with the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves falling to $4 billion. It’s barely enough to cover three weeks of imports, …

Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) has once again announced that it will shut its motorcycle plant until June 10, 2023. The automaker shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday. It said the decision was made due to the ongoing government import restrictions that have affected the auto sector, causing a shortage of inventory. …

KARACHI: In the absence of fresh triggers and expected higher dollar demand from importers towards the end of the month, the rupee is expected to remain limited against the US dollar next weeks. The local currency, in the outgoing week, fell 0.29% against the dollar in the interbank market. On Monday, the rupee closed at 284.97 against the dollar against …

ISLAMABAD: The new budget has proposed to retain the super tax on high-income individuals and companies. The income of Rs150 million to Rs300 million will be taxed from 1% to 10%. Preparations for tax proposals for the budget 2023-24 are under way. Super tax on high income individuals and companies is being proposed to be retained. A super tax of …

YouTube would remain focused on the advertising opportunities across its fastest-growing products, including Shorts Google’s YouTube has generated nearly $40 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, according to YouTube Chief Executive Officer Neal Mohan. “Monetization for us, first and foremost, is driven by advertising,” said Mohan, who gave an overview of the video platform’s business at the MoffettNathanson …

A delay in the IMF program and the political uncertainty in the country have affected the schedule for budget 2023-24 also, as a meeting of the National Accounts Committee has been rescheduled for the second time. The meeting has now been re-convened on Monday. Estimates of the GDP growth for the current financial year will be released in the meeting. …

Heightened political uncertainty in Pakistan is “probably one of the reasons” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is hesitant to revive the stalled bailout package, stated Bloomberg in a note on Friday. Ankur Shukla and Abhishek Gupta, at Bloomberg Economics, said “capital is fleeing Pakistan because there is a growing risk that the IMF will not deliver a bailout, which is …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said Pakistan’s macroeconomic conditions deteriorated during the first half of fiscal year 2022-23 (H1-FY23) despite policy-induced improvement in external current account and primary fiscal balance. In its Half Year Report for FY23 on the ‘State of Pakistan’s Economy’ released on Friday, the SBP noted that adverse global economic conditions, uncertainty surrounding the completion …

KARACHI: Mango crop in Pakistan faces the challenge of climate change this year and a reduction of 20 per cent is being estimated in its production. The production capacity of mangoes in Pakistan is around 1.8 million metric tons, however, due to the effects of climate change, it is feared that the production is expected to decrease by 20 per …

ISLAMABAD: Musadik Malik, the Minister of State for Petroleum, on Wednesday stated that the implementation of the cost-effective petrol scheme has been delayed until concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are “adequately addressed and resolved”. The Minister, while talking with media expressed that there might have been a lack of effective communication in conveying government’s stance on the …

ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance has decided to ban cryptocurrency services in Pakistan from the country’s Internet. Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha said that the government will never legalize cryptocurrency in Pakistan. She said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the IT Ministry have started working on banning cryptocurrencies. She added that FATF …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan government has signed a Debt Service Suspension Agreement with the Republic of Korea to defer loans worth $19.911 million, under the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) framework.   As per a statement released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Monday, the amount, which initially had to be repaid between July and December 2021, would now be …

The output of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) witnessed a decline of 24.99 per cent year-on-year in March 2023, the largest drop since May 2020 (during the pandemic), data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Monday.   According to the provisional Quantum Index numbers (QIM), the LSMI output declined by 9.09 per cent in March 2023 …

Pakistan made roaring business of Rs1,000 billion through various transactions in a year through Google, said the search giant’s Country Director Farhan Qureshi. In an exclusive conversation, the Google official said the customers reaped a benefit of Rs210 billion in a year. Google is creating 410,000 employment opportunities annually, Qureshi said, adding there are 350 content creators in Pakistan with …

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives on Friday announced the completion of the China Exhibition and Trading Center in a record time of six months at the Gwadar deep-sea port with the cost of $12 million. The project was launched in November 2022 on the direction of Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal …

KARACHI: After Thursday’s historic decline in the Pakistani rupee’s value, the local unit gained Rs12.43 against the US dollar in a “dramatic twist” in early trading session on Friday. The dollar was being traded at Rs286.50 during the inter-bank trade around 10:15am. On Thursday, the dollar reached all-time high of Rs298.93 after gaining Rs8.71 in the interbank market, and Rs305 …

LAHORE: The Pakistani rupee on Thursday continued setting new records in its value against the US dollar as the local unit lost Rs1.78 during the intra-day trading. The local currency was being traded in Rs293 at 10:20am with Rs1.78 decrease. The dollar has appreciated Rs9.41 against the Pakistani rupee in the last four days. The weakening of the local unit …

Pakistan is not on the agenda of International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) meetings as a result of which the ninth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will be delayed. The IMF executive board issued schedule of its meetings to be held till May 17 on its website. The next meetings are scheduled for May 11, 15, and then again on …

ISLAMABAD: The government succeeded in raising Rs705 billion through an auction of market treasury bills despite Rs1.195 trillion bids offered mostly by banks on Wednesday. The banks having surplus liquid cash took part in bidding that showed their willingness to invest in the government bills. The government was close to its target of Rs750 billion but the accepted amount was …

ISLAMABAD: Tax experts have urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for an early initiation of investigation into allegations surrounding potential smuggling of cigarettes by multinational companies, in addition to their legally imported consignments. According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, approximately 15,907 metric tonnes of tobacco and tobacco products, including a small quantity of cigarettes, were imported …

ISLAMABAD: As the PTI and the PDM-led government concluded the third and final round of negotiations on Tuesday, the government was set to present the annual budget for the fiscal year (2023-24) on June 9, sources said on Wednesday. The final round ended with both sides agreeing on holding elections on same day with no consensus on the date. Sources …

ISLAMABAD: The Board of Directors (BoD) at Silkbank Limited has given its go-ahead to the management to formally pursue the ‘potential merger’ with United Bank Limited (UBL).   Silkbank shared the development in a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.   “We would like to inform you that United Bank Limited (UBL) has expressed an interest in …

KARACHI: Zubair Tufail, President of United Business Group (UBG) and Hanif Gohar Secretary General of UBG Sindh Zone have said that the continuous increase in inflation has crippled the industry. Due to the end of subsidies and the lack of new investment in the country, many factories have come to a halt. They said that the rate of inflation increased …

ISLAMABAD: In a good news for already inflation-hit people, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has sent a summary to the government for lowering prices of petroleum products for the next fortnight. According to sources, the price of petrol can be reduced by five to seven rupees and the price of diesel has been proposed to be reduced by …

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Advisory Wing of the Ministry of Finance in its ‘Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) Report has conceded that inflation, measured as CPI, was expected to rise in FY23 to 28.5pc on average due to uncertain political and economic environment, pass-through of currency depreciation, and the rise in energy prices and stay at 21pc even in the next fiscal …