Business

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan immensely benefited through the Trade and Supply Chain Finance Programme (TSCFP) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for food and agriculture-related imports during the past 18 months. TSCFP supported more than 1,900 food and agriculture-related imports valued at $2.3 billion to 10 countries in developing Asia, with most assistance going to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam, according to information …

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Sunday announced that the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) confirmed the rollover of a $3 billion deposit for one more year. The deposit was set to mature on December 5, the SBP tweeted, adding that the amount was placed with the central bank as part of its foreign exchange reserves. “This reflects continuing …

ISLAMABAD: The coalition government led by the PML-N remained indecisive even on Saturday over the fortnightly fuel price change, which should have been announced on Thursday midnight but sources said it is now likely to be made on Sunday (today). Based on the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (Ogra) calculations, the per-litre price of diesel was to be increased by …

WEXFORD: The European Central Bank could raise interest rates into next year, causing pain for consumers as it tries to depress demand that is now increasingly adding to sky high inflation, chief economist Philip Lane said on Saturday. With inflation approaching double digit territory, the ECB delivered two oversized rate hikes in July and September, and promised even more action …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan welcomes dev­e­­­­­lopment partners and enterprises from around the globe to strengthen their inv­estment in the country as well as trade lin­kages and consider opportunities offered under the Special Economic Zones (SEZs). During a briefing hosted on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the additional secretary (Asia-Pacific) said the underlying vision of CPEC was based on Pakistan’s “desire for connectivity and …

MOSCOW: Russia is encountering difficulties in the global expansion of its payment system set up to circumvent Ukraine-related sanctions, the head of Russia’s central bank said on Friday. Visa and Mastercard suspended their operations in Russia following the Ukraine offensive, meaning foreign-issued cards no longer worked there and cards issued in Russia no longer worked abroad. Bank transfers between Europe …

KARACHI: The stock market remained under pressure throughout the session on Friday amidst sideways trading because of the investors’ concerns about flood-related losses and their impact on the economic output. Arif Habib Ltd said the stock market opened in the positive zone but traded within a range afterwards. The continued depreciation of the rupee against the dollar coupled with political …

KARACHI: Amid the daily dollar rate appreciation, banks have doubled their buying of the US currency and are sending it abroad via credit cards while the government grapples to control greenback outflows. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday reported the closing price of the dollar at Rs236.84, an increase of 96 paise compared to the previous day’s rate …

ISLAMABAD: The weekly inflation slightly decelerated to 40.58 per cent largely driven by prices of essential kitchen items and high energy costs. The weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) posted a slight decline of 0.19pc on a week-on-week (WoW) basis that ended on Sept 15, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed on Friday. The WoW …

Oil prices edged higher on Friday but were on track for a weekly decline amid fears of sharp interest rate hikes that would slam global growth and hit fuel demand. Brent crude futures were up 24 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $91.08 a barrel as of 0315 GMT, but were down 1.9pc for the week so far. US West …