Business

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan exhibits one of the lowest trade-to-GDP ratios in the world showing at just 30 per cent. However, it is not all doom and gloom and the country has a lot of room for improvement, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). One viable strategy that Pakistan can adopt to boost its growth is to further open its economy …

KARACHI: The government has decided to revise downward the markup rates for housing subsidy scheme with the aim to give the sector another chance to emerge as a leader in economic growth. A latest circular issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday said that in view of the feedback received from various stakeholders, the government has decided …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has allowed export settlement of 14 items to Afghanistan in local currency. The export of poultry and products, meat, cement, pharmaceutical, textiles, fruits, vegetables, salt, rice and surgical instruments to the crisis-hit neighbouring country can be settled in Pakistani rupees, Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood announced on his official Twitter account on Friday. The adviser said that queries …

ISLAMABAD: The weekly sensitive price indicator (SPI), which gauges inflation on a short-term basis, fell 0.08 per cent for the week ended on Feb 10, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday. The decline was mainly driven by a sharp drop in the prices of essential food items and stood in contrast to a 1.35pc increase …

BEIJING: Appreciating Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing said both China and Pakistan would welcome all countries and international organisations to participate in the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the basis of consensus. “We appreciate the remarks made by Prime Minister Imran Khan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian …

KARACHI: Barring buses, two- and three-wheelers, the auto sector turned in a robust performance as car sales jumped by 61.5 per cent in the first seven months of this fiscal year followed by 80pc increase in demand for trucks, 56pc in jeeps/pickups and 16pc in farm tractors. The car segment, however, appeared to have slowed down in January with sales …

KARACHI: The remittances being sent by the overseas Pakistanis fell by 5 per cent year-on-year to $2.144 billion in January, showed data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday. On month-on-month, the remittances depicted a fall of $376 million or 15pc. The workers’ remittances remained above the $2bn-mark for the 20th consecutive month, however. If the falling …

KARACHI: Pakistan is now eligible for MSCI’s Frontier Market (FM) 100 and FM 15 per cent country-capped indices, the global investment index provider said on Thursday. As a result, companies from Pakistan are now qualified to become part of the two indices in MSCI’s May 2022 Semi-Annual Index Review. “This can attract limited foreign inflows. However, the market will continue …

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday cleared a total of three development projects with a cumulative estimated cost of about Rs280 billion, including the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR). The meeting presided over by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Jahanzeb Khan finalised at Rs273.071bn the cost of KCR as a modern urban railway project and requested the Executive …

ISLAMABAD: The Fed­eral Board of Revenue has notified a lower rate of general sales tax on petroleum products to keep its prices competitive for consumers. A sales tax SRO 183(I) of 2022 released on Thursday said the lowest GST rates were notified to pass minimum increase to consumers. The standard GST rate is 17pc. “In exercise of the powers conferred …