Business

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSE-100 index crossed the psychological barrier of 54,000 points on Tuesday, a milestone that analysts attribute to expectations of a timely International Monetary Fund review. A little before 11am, the index extended gains of 403.5, or 0.75 per cent, from the previous close of 53,860.36. The KSE-100 index has gained more than 30pc this year, …

Eagerly yearning for stability, businesses in Pakistan seem to be somewhat disengaged from political parties’ manifesto-crafting processes. Part of the reason might be that they anticipate that no single party will secure more than 30 per cent votes and envisage the formation of a coalition government following the current interim administration. “While it may sound somewhat cynical, the stark reality …

The benchmark index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its positive momentum from last week on Monday, buoyed by expectations of a successful International Monetary Fund review. The index gained over 400 points in the early morning trade. The market finally closed at 53,860.36 points, up 737.33 points or 1.39 per cent from the previous close of 53,123.03. Last …

ISLAMABAD: After removing Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) from the privatisation list, the government has assigned its management consulting to Pakistan Institute of Management (PIM) to re-evaluate core and non-core assets along with legal, fiscal and human resource liabilities, but not before losing more than $18 billion in over eight years of closure. “The purpose of this (Management Consulting) assignment is …

Those who bought tickets from Pakistan International Airlines recently rued the day as hundreds of flights have been cancelled recently. This is unsurprising, given that the country’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) are in shambles. The worst in South Asia, according to the World Bank, the SOEs burden a country that had to scramble to stay afloat. SOE revenues are akin to a man trying …

Despite the ongoing ‘war’ — if one is ready to call it a ‘war’ and not a genocide — in the Middle East, oil prices have largely remained unaffected. Last Friday, as the week approached its end, oil prices settled more than two per cent lower, with Brent crude futures down $1.92 or 2.3pc to $84.89 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude …

ISLAMABAD: The exp­ort of services rose for the third consecutive month, witnessing a marginal growth of 1.08 per cent year-on-year to $571.14 million in September. Despite a contraction in merchandise exports in the first two months of the current fiscal year, services exports turned in positive performance. However, commodity exports also reversed the trend and increased in October, according to …

KARACHI: The dollar has fast-tracked regaining its lost ground as it reached closer to Rs285 in the interbank market after hitting its lowest in the middle of October. Amid drying up inflows coupled with strong demand from importers, the greenback maintained its bull run by gaining Rs7.7 or 2.8 per cent in the last 10 sessions. Currency experts counted several reasons which …

KARACHI: Massive gas tariff hike in addition to rising power rates would cause a steep rise in production cost resulting in the closure of small- and medium-sized units, making exports uncompetitive and rendering thousands of employees jobless. Just a day ahead of the Federal Cabinet meeting last Monday, Caretaker Minister for Energy, Power and Petroleum Muhammad Ali had assured the members of the Karachi …

ISLAMABAD: Three key water sector development projects under the Prime Minister’s National Agriculture Emergency Programme and designed to increase crop yields leading to gaining self-sufficiency in food suffer a major setback as funding for these projects has been delayed. The national food security and research ministry — which sponsored these projects costing Rs194 billion and launched in 2019-2020 and due …