Business

ISLAMABAD: On the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government has decided to conduct special competition and regulatory audits of the major economic sectors involving a large footprint of the state-owned entities (SOEs) to identify entry barriers for the private sector and ensure fair and competitive environment in the public sector. Informed sources said the Competition Commission of …

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank fell by $173 million during a week due to debt servicing payments, adding more uncertainty to an economy already passing through a difficult phase. The central bank reported on Friday that its foreign reserve holdings during the week that ended on Feb 2 dropped to $8.044 billion from $8.216bn a week ago. …

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Friday directed all the ministries to prepare plans within five days for commissioning of development projects with a potential to attract foreign investment. While presiding over a meeting to review progress on execution of investment deals with GCC states, the premier directed officials of different ministries to present their respective strategies on …

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index plunged 1,700 points in early morning trade over political uncertainty on Friday as the results of the general elections trickled in after a protracted delay. According to the PSX website, the index plunged by 2,278 points shortly after trading began. It then recovered slightly, losing 1,720.27 points, or 2.68 per cent, to …

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL KARACHI: Despite being surrounded by political and economic uncertainties, the local currency remained stronger against the US dollar in the interbank market. The exchange rate, which has been a serious cause of concern for the government as well as stakeholders in the economy, remained stable for over two months. The State Bank of Pakistan reported the …

KARACHI: Post-election scenario is more important for the economy as the ‘stalemate’ prevailing for the last 15 days will see a vital change with the formation of the new government, said market sources. Since the general elections were announced the stakeholders of the economy have been keenly watching the developments particularly the economic performance and the caretaker government’s relations with …

KARACHI: From April onwards, the country has a substantial opportunity to increase textile exports and capture a larger chunk of the world market, says Pakistan Textile Exporters Association Patron-in-Chief Khurram Mukhtar. He said there were two main areas that the incoming government should focus on to boost textile exports: electricity-related reforms and the availability of capital. Electricity prices for the …

KARACHI: Despite an improvement in flag and panaflex displays in the city just one week before the elections, manufacturers noted a 40-60 per cent decline in sales compared to the 2018 elections, attributing this drop to looming uncertainty over the holding of the general polls and a lack of orders from small political parties. Both political parties and their candidates …

LONDON: War underwriters have raised the premiums they charge to US, British and Israeli firms by as high as 50 per cent for ships transiting the Red Sea and some providers are avoiding such business due to targeting of the vessels by Yemen’s Houthis, sources said. Attacks by the Houthis since November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and …

ISLAMABAD: Germany will provide €45 million to Pakistan to start new bilateral cooperation projects focusing on climate and energy, economic development, social protection and population policy issues. The agreements on technical development cooperation emerged as the result of a long-standing and trustful partnership between the two countries, the Economic Affairs Division said in a press release on Wednesday. The newly …