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 …

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 …