KARACHI: The depreciating rupee, rising deficits and anticipation of sharp jump in interest rates dragged the Pakistan stocks down 2 per cent during the week ended December 3, 2021, dealers said. However, with the ease in the global commodities improving Pakistan’s macro-outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-related uncertainty largely behind and the MSCI-related rebalancing, the … Read more
KARACHI: As expected, the Pakistan stock market remained under pressure after the central bank increased the benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points against the general consensus of 100bps. Also, the news of the current account deficit deteriorating to $1.66 billion created further volatility in the market. “For the upcoming week, we expect the market … Read more
KARACHI: The planned inflows under the Saudi assistance package next week may help ease rupee volatility. According to the government authorities, the Saudi support of $3 billion would be transferred directly to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) next week. Saudi Arabia on October 26, 2021 announced to support Pakistan in managing its balance of … Read more
KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Thursday expressed concerns over not taking stakeholders in confidence to discuss the mini-budget, a statement said. FPCCI president Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo expressed concerns over the approach of the government for not taking the apex business, industry and trade body of Pakistan into … Read more
KARACHI: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Friday refuted claims that the government would introduce any new taxes in the mini-budget following an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. But went on to say that the government would withdraw some of the exemptions granted to the business community. Addressing … Read more
KARACHI: Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities have increased $13 billion, or 11.4 per cent, during the last one year, according to the statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. The outstanding debt and liabilities of the country stood at $127 billion by September 2021, compared with $114 billion over the same … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: A UN agency has warned that Afghanistan’s banking system is on the verge of collapse because of consumers’ inability to repay loans, fewer deposits, and other liquidity problems, leading to a social crisis in an already fragile economy. “Afghanistan’s financial and bank payment systems are in disarray. The bank-run problem must be resolved … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee gained 47 paisas against the dollar on Tuesday after certainty in external inflows. The exchange rate ended at Rs174.30 against the dollar from the previous day’s closing of Rs174.77 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The dealers said the market opened positively; following an announcement made by Adviser to the Prime Minister … Read more
SAN SALVADOR: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday warned El Salvador against using Bitcoin as an official tender given the risks associated with the cryptocurrency, a day after the country announced plans for the world’s first “Bitcoin City”. El Salvador, which has used the US dollar for two decades, became the first country in the … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the government of Pakistan to take five prior actions, including amendments in the State Bank Act, before the approval of its Executive Board meeting. In a media briefing, the adviser said after a … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee gained 46 paisas against the dollar on Monday, amid a highly volatile trading session, dealers said. The exchange rate ended at Rs174.77 against the dollar, compared with Rs175.23 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The dealers said the market opened with a sharp rise in the rupee value; following the monetary policy … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to revive its $6 billion extended fund facility programme to Pakistan after the two sides finally reached a staff-level agreement. The agreement is subject to approval by the Executive Board, following the implementation of prior actions, notably on fiscal and institutional reforms. Completion of the review would … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee made a sharp recovery against the dollar at the opening of the interbank foreign exchange market on Monday. The rupee recovered Rs1.63 as the exchange rate is presently at Rs173.61 to the dollar. The rupee ended at Rs175.24 to the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market last Friday. Currency dealers attributed … Read more
WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced it has renewed a two-year credit line for Mexico for $50 billion. The Mexican economy remains exposed to risks, including from the impact of the Covid-19, and the flexible credit line (FCL) will provide insurance against those risks and bolster market confidence, the International Monetary Fund said in … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan stocks are expected to come under pressure after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased the benchmark interest rates by 150bps against the general consensus of 100bps to 8.75 per cent, dealers said. An analyst at AKD Securities said the news of the current account deficit deteriorating to $1.7 billion would also … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The lawmakers on Wednesday gave an approval to amend the Banking Services Corporation Ordinance Bill, 2001, in a joint session of the Upper and Lower houses. The bill not only weaken the Finance Ministry’s control on the State Bank but also cleared one of the major hurdles to revive a $6 billion International Monetary … Read more
WASHINGTON: The Chinese economy, weighed down by electricity shortages and a vast real estate crisis, has lost its lustre recently, to the point where economists are starting to question its impact on the global growth it has helped drive for more than 20 years. The difficulties of the real estate sector in China triggered by … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance has rejected the news regarding the failure of talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and said there was not any deadlock with the IMF. Finance Ministry spokesman Muzammil Aslam, in a statement, said that there was no truth in the news about the deadlock, adding that the … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Thursday expressed the hope for successful outcome of top level negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for putting the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) back on track. “I believe that the progress we have made to-date is really encouraging and as we say, … Read more
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan will head the Kingdom’s delegation at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which kicked off in Washington on Tuesday, Saudi Press Agency announced. The delegation includes the governor of the Saudi Central Bank, Fahad Al-Mubarak, and a number of specialists … Read more
RIYADH/CAIRO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the Saudi economy to grow 2.8 per cent in 2021 and 4.8 per cent in 2022, Arab News quoted it, as saying, in its annual World Economic Outlook. The new 2021 growth forecast for the kingdom upgrades on the 2.4 per cent growth prediction from the previous report, issued in July. However, the … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Pakistan’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow 4 per cent in the current fiscal year (2021/22). In its recent report “World Economic Outlook October 2021” released on Tuesday, the IMF also endorsed the Pakistan’s provisional figures of GDP growth rate of 3.9 per cent during the previous … Read more
WASHINGTON: Embattled International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva was fighting for her professional life on Saturday, as the institution’s Executive Board considers evidence she manipulated data in favour of China, while in a senior role at the World Bank. The board said after a meeting on Friday it will decide “very soon” whether she … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The government is committed to engage the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to broaden the economic development in the country, a senior official said. Talking to IMF country representative for Pakistan Teresa Daban Sanchez, who made a farewell courtesy call on him, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar welcomed the appointment of … Read more
Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen has said that the rise in inflation due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program will provide direct subsidies on food items to the poor. Shaukat Tareen said that there was a 50 percent difference in the global prices of ghee which we kept at 30 percent. The prices of … Read more
WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) board of directors met Tuesday over the charges that its director Kristalina Georgieva pressured staff in 2017 when she was the World Bank CEO to change data in a key ranking report to paint China in a more positive light. The board did not announce any immediate decision and said … Read more
KARACHI: A survey conducted by a research house revealed that the majority of the participants believe no change in key policy rate in the upcoming monetary policy announcement scheduled on September 20, 2021. Topline Research conducted a poll of key financial market participants on the expectations over the upcoming monetary policy announcement. At present, the … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee is likely to remain unstable against the dollar next week, owing to the pressure of external payments and uncertain conditions in neighbouring Afghanistan. The exchange rate is presently at Rs168.02 against the greenback by the week ended September 10, 2021. The rupee is heading towards making a new historic low against the … Read more
