Business

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is preparing to discuss Pakistan’s budget plans for the coming financial year, as part of a long-awaited bailout tranche from the lender for the cash-strapped nation, the IMF’s Pakistan mission chief told Reuters on Thursday. Negotiations over key budget targets such as the fiscal deficit are one of the last hurdles before the IMF approves a staff-level …

KARACHI: Brand image matters in Pakistan more than most other nations as 70 per cent of the respondents in the latest survey reported they’re willing to spend more on a well-known brand. “This in effect has caused growth in brands across categories,” said a global trends survey report released by international insights firm Ipsos on Wednesday. According to an analysis …

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday concluded that ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) and K-Electric would charge between 34 paise and Rs3.70 additional fuel cost, respectively, from their consumers for power consumed in March, under monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) mechanism. The decisions were made on the completion of two separate public hearings. The Discos and KE …

ISLAMABAD: Inflation in Pakistan surged to a record 36.4 per cent in April from a year earlier, driven mainly by skyrocketing food prices and rising energy costs, official data showed on Tuesday. The finance ministry in its recent report projected that inflation would rem­ain in the range of 36-38pc mainly due to the rupee’s depreciation and rising administered prices, which …

ISLAMABAD: For the eighth month in a row, Pakistan’s merchandise exports shrank by 26.68 per cent year-on-year to $2.12 billion in April, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. In the first 10 months (July to April) of 2022-23, exports were down 11.71pc at $23.17bn compared to $26.24bn in the corresponding period last year. The export …

The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR’s) customs department seized urea fertiliser and sugar worth Rs392 million from Balochistan’s Khuzdar during three raids as part of a major anti-smuggling operation, it emerged on Wednesday. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the FBR said during the ongoing operations against the smuggling of essential commodities, Customs Intelligence seized 41,883 bags of urea having …

KARACHI: Despite calm in international gold markets and exchange rate stability, the yellow metal traders on Tuesday pushed up the prices to historic highs of Rs221,000 per tola and Rs189,472 per 10-gram. The prices were raised by Rs1,500 per tola and Rs1,286 per 10 grams from overnight levels. According to All Sindh Saraf Jewellers Group (ASSJG), the world gold rate …

Government-led reforms and the growth of private investment in new sectors will help support non-oil economic growth in Saudi Arabia amid an expected sharp slowdown in overall growth this year, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said. The Saudi economy grew 8.7 per cent last year, as high oil prices boosted revenue and led to the kingdom’s first budget …

Pakistan moved up seven places in 2022 according to the annual World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday. According to the index published to coincide with Press Freedom Day by the RSF, a non-profit that defends and promotes freedom of information, Pakistan now ranks 150 out of 180 countries, whereas it stood at 157 in the previous year’s index. …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports to nine regional countries dipped 28.28 per cent in the first nine months of FY23 mainly driven by a drop in shipments to China, data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan showed. The decline is not confined to exports but imports especially from China also saw a deep decline during the current fiscal year. As part …