Business

ISLAMABAD: Describing the failed four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) as a “missed opportunity”, the IMF blamed both the PTI and PDM, particularly under the economic stewardship of Shau­kat Tarin and Ishaq Dar, for irresponsible budgetary expansion and exchange rate interventions, respectively. The IMF staff report released after the signing of the $3 billion Standby Arrange­ment detailed step-wise ‘stop and go’ cycles of the …

Twitter launched its new logo on Monday, replacing the blue bird with a white X on a black background as the company moves toward rebranding as X. The social media network’s website showed the company’s new logo, but its URL was still showing as twitter.com and the blue “Tweet” button was visible. Some users saw a blue version of the …

A business ecosystem facilitates the growth and prosperity of firms by providing access to finance and an efficient value chain. Its objective is to ensure fair benefits across sectors, preventing undue advantage for any one sector at the expense of others. However, the current business ecosystem in Pakistan primarily favours feudal, urban elites, and semi-government corporations. Pakistan’s economic structure has …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has ext­ended the closing date of the Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP) from September 2023 to July 2025 since the implementation of the project approved in 2022 remained unsatisfactory. The project has been significantly delayed for several reasons, including a two-year delay in appointing a full-time Project Mana­gement Unit (PMU), the impact of Covid-19, the 2022 …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that the increase in the power tariff would not affect those using up to 200 units per month. He made the remarks while addressing a ceremony in Lahore during which Pakistan LNG Limited and Azeri company Socar signed a framework agreement for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Last week, the federal cabinet had approved the power …

WASHINGTON: There’s no quick fix to Pakistan’s economic problems but following the arrangement it has made with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can help it overcome the crisis, says US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Elizabeth Horst. “We support the arrangement. It provides a breathing space” to Pakistan, Ms Horst said in a conversation with Washington-based …

KARACHI: Digital technology company Symmetry Group Ltd (SGL) is going to raise at least Rs430.2 million next month by selling new and existing shares on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Speaking to Dawn on Saturday, SGL CEO Sarosch Ahmed said the issue is likely to take place in the first 10 days of August. The entire issue consists of 101.2m shares or …

KARACHI: Despite surging domestic prices, the country exported record 100,194 tonnes of meat and meat preparations in FY23 exceeding the previous peak of 95,648 tonnes recorded in FY21. As per data issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country earned foreign exchange of $427 million in FY23 versus $331m in FY21. The exporters fetched an average per tonne …

KARACHI: The PMLN-led coalition government could secure $10.844 billion in bilateral, multilateral and commercial loans against the budgetary target of $22.817bn in the outgoing FY23, showed data released by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD). The government received 47.5pc less than the target despite aggressive efforts to boost foreign exchange reserves and narrowly escaped the default just at the end of …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has held back over Rs400 billion in tax refunds to reduce the volume of shortfall in annual revenue collection in the outgoing FY23. The FBR’s decision to withhold tax refunds has sparked significant concerns and drawn a strong reaction from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In response to the situation, the IMF has …