The country’s oil import bill witnessed reduction of 20.90 percent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The oil imports during July-January (2020-21) were recorded at $5640.751 million against the imports of $7131.451 million during July-January (2019-20), showing decline of 20.90 percent, according to latest data by Pakistan...
A five-day session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) set to commence in Paris in which Pakistan’s performance on the implementation of the global illicit financing watchdog’s 27 action points to curb terror financing and money laundering will be reviewed. Experts are of the view that Pakistan is expected to exit the grey list soon after winning a “largely-compliant”...
ISLAMABAD: President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said Turkey wants to enhance trade with Pakistan and increase the trade volume between the two countries to $5 billion. Addressing the Pakistan-Turkey Business and Investment Forum, the Turkish president said the trade volume between the two countries is below its true potential. "We will quickly increase our...
ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held a meeting on Wednesday and mutually decided not to introduce a mini-budget. According to sources, the talks agreed that there will be no increase or reduction in tax target until June this year. Finance Ministry sources said that Pakistan will make every effort to achieve the tax target. It also...
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange began another week on a bearish note on Monday, with the KSE-100 index plunging 846.93 points (2.16 per cent) as analysts pointed to a need for fiscal adjustment and the market reacting to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak hurting imports. The index, which had settled for the weekend at 40,143.63, fell to 39,296.70 points...
ISLAMABAD: Talks between Pakistani officials and an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation are underway with the meeting expected to focus on the imposition of new taxes worth Rs200 billion, among other issues. An IMF mission is currently on a visit to Pakistan to review the economy’s performance in line with the conditions related to the Fund’s loan programme. The successful...
Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved the proposal to ban sugar export on Friday, the summary has been sent to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) after PM's approval. As per details, after the PM nod, the export of some 350,000 tons of sugar will be halted. Furthermore, the government will also import sugar to meet the demand and supply gap,...
Moody's Investors Service, one of the leading credit rating agencies in the world, has given the Pakistani banking system a stable outlook for the next 12 to 18 months in a new report released on Thursday. "The sovereign credit profile has improved in recent months, benefiting the banks through their high exposure to government securities, which account for around 40%...
Pakistan will come under pressure to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) it can bring down a ballooning fiscal deficit, as a review on the future course of its $6 billion financial aid programme gets under way. An IMF team sent to review benchmarks set as part of the deal began formal meetings in Islamabad on Tuesday that will continue...
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Monday said the federal government has taken several initiatives to bring down the prices of various commodities. “The inflation rate in the country would start receding soon which would gradually come down to comfortable level,” the finance adviser said. “The nation will see that soon the...
Chinese stocks crashed on Monday with some major shares quickly falling by the maximum daily limit as the country's investors got their first chance in more than a week to react to the spiralling coronavirus outbreak. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dived 8.73 per cent, or 259.83 points, to open at 2,716.70. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on...
The government has decided to keep the prices of petroleum products unchanged for the month of February, media reported on Friday. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, the existing prices of January 2020 will remain unchanged for the next month. The petroleum prices for February will be: Petrol: Rs116.60, Diesel: Rs127.26, Kerosene oil: Rs99.45, Light diesel...
KARACHI: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Thursday proposed the Petroleum Division to decrease petrol price by Rs0.06 per litre. According to sources, Ogra has also purposed to increase prices of high-speed diesel price by Rs2.47 per litre while a decrease of Rs0.66 per litre was recommended in price of kerosene oil. An increase of Rs1.10 per litre...
LAHORE: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $15 million loan that will help seven cities in Punjab province in Pakistan design comprehensive investment and public service delivery plans in preparation for upcoming urban development projects, said a press release issued by the ADB on Thursday. The loan will fund the preparation of spatial master plans, detailed engineering designs, and...
The delegation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) will reach Pakistan in early February for another round of negotiations with the Pakistani authorities. IMF delegation will arrive in Islamabad on February 2, whereas, negotiations between the IMF and Pakistan will begin on February 3. The talks will review Pakistan's second quarter financial performance. Pakistan will receive $450 million if talks succeed...
ISLAMABAD: Nearly 60 percent of the business community in Pakistan feels that the country is heading in the wrong direction, according to a recent survey by analytics and advisory firm Gallup. Gallup Pakistan has conducted a survey of 433 businessmen belonging to different parts of the country in which a sweeping majority have said that the country is not heading...
ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan has decided to maintain its key policy interest rate at 13.25 percent, announced the central bank's president, Reza Baqir on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, SBP Governor Reza Baqir said that the central bank has decided to maintain the interest rate and has kept its projection for inflation unchanged at 11-12% for...
