Business

KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Saturday expressed concern over the “biased and unfair” manner in which commercial banks have disbursed 90 per cent of the funds coming under export refinance schemes to only a few chosen business groups. In a statement, FPCCI President Mian Nasser Hyatt Magoo said that if this unfair and …

LAHORE: The country’s leading economists have expressed mixed views on the provisional estimate of 3.94 per cent GDP growth rate projected by the National Accounts Committee (NAC) and said it negates the government’s own estimate of 2.9pc GDP growth approved by the federal cabinet last month. Last month, the federal cabinet approved the medium-term budget strategy paper and shared it …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s food import bill grew by 53.93 per cent to $6.899 billion year-on-year during the 10 months of the current fiscal year (10MFY21) mainly due to sugar and wheat imports to bridge the shortfall in domestic production of agriculture produce. The rising food import bill also triggered trade deficit, which would cause some uneasiness on the external side for …

KARACHI: The National Saving Schemes (NSS) witnessed a massive outflow of investment during the nine months of the current fiscal year compared to large accumulation of funds by the government during previous years. Latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on May 21 showed that the net mobilisation of funds through the NSS was an outflow of Rs86.3 …

ISLAMABAD: An unexpected rate of economic growth in the current fiscal year has triggered a heated debate in the country, with several members of the federal cabinet coming up with a string of justifications to prove authenticity of the data involved and the main opposition leader expressing doubts over the calculations of government’s economic team. The National Accounts Committee (NAC), …

KARACHI: Australian High Commissioner Dr Geoffrey Shaw discussed ‘Pakistan-Australia relations and bilateral trade’ during a webinar organised by the English Speaking Union of Pakistan (ESUP) on Thursday. He said Pakistan and Australia have strong linkages as “they both have democratic governments, an understanding of each other’s cultures and a love of cricket, which form the basis of strong Pakistan and …

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday cleared three development projects worth Rs55.5 billion, including a Rs31.2bn information technology scheme for Karachi. A meeting of the CDWP, presided over by Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, approved Rs3.4bn for a cancer hospital in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and recommended two other projects for approval by …

LAHORE: Punjab claims to have achieved 100 per cent wheat procurement target of 3.5 million tonnes fixed for the province this season. “We’ve achieved the procurement target of 3.5m tonnes within the stipulated time for the first time in history,” Punjab Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan claimed on Thursday. Sharing procurement details, he said Bahawalpur division produced most of the …

ISLAMABAD: The opening of the Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) by Pakis­tanis living in Saudi Arabia has witnessed a significant upward trend following Pri­me Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to the kingdom. This was stated by the governor of State Bank of Pakis­tan, Dr Reza Baqir, during a meeting with the prime minister on Thursday. PM Khan expressed satisfaction that the …

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile and Investment Abdul Razzaq Dawood said on Friday that e-commerce giant Amazon had added Pakistan to its sellers’ list. In a tweet announcing the development, he said: “It is a big accomplishment for our e-commerce and will open up vast opportunities for a new breed of young men and women entrepreneurs. We …