Business

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Tuesday projected about four million people falling below the lower middle-income poverty line amid economic growth plummeting to just 0.4 per cent against a budgeted target of 5pc. Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast Pakistan’s economic growth plunging to 0.6pc from 6pc last year owing to the prevailing political crisis, flood-oriented economic losses, …

KARACHI: The domestic debt of the central government has increased by Rs3 trillion during the first 8 months of the current financial year, reported the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday. The central bank data showed the stock of government debt rose to Rs34.071 trillion in February compared to Rs31.037tr in June 2022, an increase of 9.7 per cent. …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has suggested a number of measures to address Pakistan’s chronic fiscal deficits, including a cut to the funding of projects that now fell within the provinces’ domain. Briefing journalists, the World Bank’s senior macroeconomist Derek Chen said the federal government was still spending around Rs328bn every year on federal ministries devolved to the provinces around 15 …

Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha said on Thursday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has received a commitment from Saudi Arabia regarding funding for Pakistan. Last month, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had said that financing commitments from friendly countries were the last hurdle in securing the IMF deal, which Pakistan needs to stave off …

KARACHI: Stock prices swung downwards on Tuesday as investors expected an interest rate hike at the Monetary Policy Committee’s meeting scheduled to take place in the afternoon. Arif Habib Ltd said investors’ participation also remained low due to the Supreme Court’s decision about the provincial elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, investors showed confidence and chose to add value …

ISLAMABAD: Smartphones made by Chinese technology giant Huawei are expected to re-enter the Pakistani market soon, company officials have said. Huawei’s executives in Pakistan told the media at a recent event that the re-launch was expected by the end of this year or by early 2024. The ceremony, organised to launch the company’s annual report for 2022, was aired in …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Tuesday projected about four million people falling below the lower middle-income poverty line amid economic growth plummeting to just 0.4 per cent against a budgeted target of 5pc. Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast Pakistan’s economic growth plunging to 0.6pc from 6pc last year owing to the prevailing political crisis, flood-oriented economic losses, …

KARACHI: While slamming another 100 basis points hike in the benchmark interest rate to a record 21 per cent, the business community on Tuesday questioned the government’s approach of fighting inflation by jacking up lending rates saying the strategy has failed to produce desired results but slowed down economic activities. “The entire business community has refused to accept the 100 …

KARACHI: Former central bank chief Dr Reza Baqir said on Tuesday debt restructuring for Pakistan will be “very difficult as a process” given that most of its foreign loans are “very hard to restructure”. “All the warning signs are there that the process will be difficult because of the type of debt that dominates on the balance sheet of Pakistan,” …

WASHINGTON: Finance Minis­ter Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings in Washington next week, as it will be another opportunity for Islamabad to campaign for the renewal of its IMF package. “Due to financial constraints, the finance minister will come with a small entourage,” a diplomatic source told Dawn. “But the finance …