Business

The benchmark index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its positive momentum from last week as two index heavyweights — Habib Bank Ltd and Lucky Cement — announced stock buybacks on Tuesday. The KSE-100 index was up 397 points, or 0.96 per cent, to reach 41,978 points at 2:22pm. Salman Naqvi, head of research at Aba Ali Habib Securities, …

Pakistan’s overall external debt and liabilities stood around $126.35 billion at the end of December 2022 against our annual exports of goods and services worth $40bn in FY23 that ended in June this year. Since the external debt and liabilities are more than three times our total exports, we are, by textbook definition, a heavily indebted nation. Large external debts …

An agricultural crop that typically comes to market once a year and whose harvesting window hardly lasts over a month is expected to meet the country’s domestic needs all year long and export demand (if any). Therefore, it is highly essential to have sufficient stocks of the crop in the country. The storage need is even greater for perishable crops …

Forests play a crucial role in the environment, providing employment opportunities, food, wood, fuel, and animal fodder for approximately 1.6 billion individuals worldwide. They also help mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide and generating oxygen, making them the largest carbon store on the planet. Deforestation releases carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming. Countries should aim to have at least …

All theories of economic growth, from the Solow Model to the Endogenous growth theory, share one similarity — the importance of innovation in development. Technological advancement tends to have spillover effects, as advancements in production processes, knowledge and capital are adaptable across industries. Unfortunately, the state of innovation in Pakistan is dismal. The Global Innovation Index (GII) uses 80 indicators …

Pakistan is a country stuck in a status quo of a somnambulist state that no jarring crisis can wake up, be it the pandemic or the state of near-default. Since 1991, the percentage of employers (as a share of total employment) has remained at 1pc, indicating that the wealth is still concentrated in the hands of the few. The main …

ISLAMABAD: The Refo­r­ms and Resource Mobilisation Comm­ission committee on Saturday suggested a range of tax measures for consideration in the upcoming budget 2023-24, with a focus on bringing concealed income under the tax ambit. The commission’s chairman, Ashfaq Tola, submitted an interim report to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and briefed the committee on the salient features of recommendations focusing on …

KARACHI: Price shocks continue for the buyers of motorcycles as Atlas Honda Ltd increased the prices of its two-wheeler by Rs5,000-Rs15,000 with effect from May 1. The new price ofHonda CD70 is Rs154,900, CD70 Dream Rs165,900, Pridor Rs203,900, CG125 Rs229,900, CG125S Rs275,900, CB125F Rs380,900, CB150F Rs473,900 and CB150F-Silver Rs477,900. The country’s second largest bike assembler, United Auto Industries, has also …

WASHINGTON: Two leading economists — Atif Mian and Reza Baqir — have warned that the current political crisis will have tremendous economic ramifications, but they also hoped that it leads to key structural adjustments in the decision-making process. In a recent discussion on Pakistan’s economic future, which Mr Mian posted online earlier this week, both economists emphasised the need to …

KARACHI: The outgoing Sweet Eid has left a bitter aftertaste for many garments, shoes and artificial-jewellery sellers, as inflation-bitten citizens tightened their purse strings because of significant price hikes across the board. The traders have mostly blamed the rupee’s depreciation and the central bank’s curbs on imports for higher prices. Kapra Market, commonly known as Kagzi Bazaar and located near …