Business

SAN FRANCISCO: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said this week’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping is a badly needed signal that the world needs to cooperate more. “It sends a signal to the rest of the world that we must find ways to cooperate on those challenges where no country on …

KARACHI: The banking currency market is again operating on a dual-rate system, where dollars are selling at a premium compared to the official exchange rate, particularly impacting small-scale importers, banking sources said on Saturday. The discrepancy comes even though there are no official restrictions on imports or the opening of letters of credit (LCs). Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in …

LAHORE: The already volatile sugar market has another time-ticking bomb under it as the crushing season is about to begin and growers from Punjab and Sindh will be selling sugarcane at different prices and distorting the national market. Sindh has announced a rate of Rs425 per maund, whereas Punjab has fixed it at Rs400 for the same quantity. If the …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received less than $3.85 billion in foreign loans, almost one-fifth of the annual budget estimate, amid limited borrowing avenues in the wake of poor credit rating and adverse conditions in the global financial markets. In its monthly report on Foreign Economic Assistance (FEA), the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) on Friday said the country received just $3.847bn in July-October …

ISLAMABAD: The Customs Intelligence Directorate has confiscated goods valued at a staggering Rs18.906 billion in a sweeping operation against smuggling and mis-invoicing across the country. The stringent measures taken since September highlight the interim government’s unwavering commitment to combating illegal trade practices. A detailed analysis reveals that the directorate confiscated goods amounting to Rs14.981bn, while contravention cases registered during the …

KARACHI: Profit-taking by sceptical investors put a stop to the northbound journey of the stock market’s benchmark on Friday after six consecutive sessions of index gains. Topline Securities Ltd said the KSE-100 index opened on a positive note and gained momentum to hit an intraday high of 354 points before hitting roadblocks. Arif Habib Ltd analyst Ahsan Mehanti attributed the …

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday announced that it had approved $250 million in loans to Pakistan for improving its power transmission network in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure reliable electricity supply. The project is aimed at helping the country achieve national grid stability, energy security, climate resilience and increased transmission capacity to deploy sufficient, reliable, clean, …

ISLAMABAD: A massive increase in gas prices drove the annual short-term inflation to above 40 per cent for the first time in over four months, official data showed on Friday. The inflation reading stood at 41.9pc for the week ending Nov 16, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said, mainly because of over 1,100pc increase in gas charges compared to …

ISLAMABAD: The government has deferred its plans to issue a $1.5 billion international bond, Caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar said on Thursday, stressing that the country will have to go for more IMF loan programmes for some time as the economy remains fragile. Her remarks came a day after the government reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a …

LAHORE: Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) on Thursday sought permission to export half a million tonnes of surplus sugar. In a letter to Com­merce Minister Gohar Ejaz, the association drawing his attention towards the current challenges requested to allow exports which is crucial to the industry’s economic survival. It is pertinent to mention that sugar exports during FY23 stood at …