KARACHI: The government has been disincentivising investments in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) compared with the real-estate and construction sector, an official said. PSX Managing Director Farrukh M Khan while speaking at Karachi Press Club, said that the stock market investors demand a level playing field where they could carry on business activities. “The PSX … Read more
KARACHI: Prime Minister Imran Khan is a staunch believer in meritocracy. Giving an example he said, “Australia is the most successful team as their system is based on recognising talent. Pakistan has the best cricket talent, but does not come to the fore because there isn’t a system of merit”. An effort was also made … Read more
BEIJING: The Chinese yuan is likely to hold its strength as a safe haven for global investors seeking shelter against geopolitical conflicts, leaving more policy space for China’s central bank to support the economy, experts said on Thursday. The currency is expected to stay appealing even amid the looming interest rate hikes by the US … Read more
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s central bank hiked interest rates by one percentage point on Friday and urged the government to increase taxes as the country skirts economic collapse. The troubled South Asian island nation is in the grip of a severe foreign exchange crisis that has led to acute shortages of food, fuel, medicines and … Read more
NEW YORK: US credit card giants Visa, Mastercard and American Express said they were blocking Russian banks from their payment networks following international sanctions in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “As a result of sanction orders, we have blocked multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network,” Mastercard Chief Executive Michael Miebach said in … Read more
HONG KONG: Crude surged past $113 a barrel Wednesday and equities sank with investors growing increasingly fearful about the Ukraine war’s impact on global energy supplies and the economic recovery. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his neighbour has sent world markets into a spiral over the past week, further fraying nerves on trading floors … Read more
BEIJING: When China’s President Xi Jinping issued his traditional Lunar New Year wishes from the country’s coal heartland in January, the subtext was clear: Beijing is not ready to kick its coal addiction, despite promises to slash emissions. The ink had barely dried on the hard-fought deal struck at last year’s United Nations climate conference … Read more
LONDON: Britain’s NatWest bank has said that it surged back into annual profit last year as the economy recovered from Covid, and forecast it stands to gain from rising interest rates. The lender, which is majority-owned by the government, said in a statement that net profit hit £2.95 billion ($4 billion, 3.5 billion euros) in … Read more
LONDON: Britain’s economy grew by a record 7.5 per cent last year on easing Covid curbs after a pandemic-driven collapse, official data showed, but analysts warned that sky-high inflation clouds the 2022 outlook. The expansion, which was the fastest since records began in 1948, followed a record 9.4 per cent slump in 2020, the Office … Read more
China rebounded strongly from the pandemic, but growth is losing momentum while remaining overly dependent on support from investment and exports. This imperils the nation’s long-sought transition to sustained high-quality growth that’s balanced, inclusive and green. While China’s many challenges have no easy answer, the key message of the IMF’s annual Article IV review of … Read more
Islamabad: In a country like Pakistan, which is surrounded by internal and external conflicts, managing the economy is an uphill task. Strained relations with India and continuous turbulent situation in Afghanistan never allowed Pakistan to realise its true potential. In the last 74 years, the country’s economy is moving like a see-saw between military and … Read more
KARACHI: The Site Association of Industry has declared the recent increase in petroleum products prices disastrous for the economy while appealing to the Prime Minister to withdraw the recent increase, a statement said. SITE President Abdul Rashid, in an appeal to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar and Commerce and Investment Adviser Abdul … Read more
KARACHI: Pakistan’s economy is again at crossroads mainly due to its inconsistent economic policies and weak implementation of structural reforms. This is evident from the Budget FY22, by way of which the fiscal policy became expansionary and several key EFF commitments were reversed to spur growth; which also included low petroleum development levy (PDL) and … Read more
BEIJING – China and Kyrgyzstan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on green development and pledged to further safeguard regional security and stability, according to a joint statement issued last week. The joint statement came following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and incoming Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, who attended the opening ceremony … Read more
KYIV – When he arrived at the front line as a volunteer to fight Russian-backed separatists in 2014, Pavlo Dolynskiy found Ukraine’s army in a desperate state. Kyiv had just lost the Crimean peninsula to Moscow without a shot being fired and its regular forces — eaten away by years of neglect and corruption, couldn’t … Read more
LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the government to restore tax exemptions on solar panels, hybrid seeds, agri and industrial machinery in the larger national interest, a statement said. LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir, Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and Vice President Haris Ateeq said that the current … Read more
MOSCOW: Russia has no plans to introduce large-scale restrictions to reel in surging coronavirus cases, a senior health official said on Wednesday, despite reporting new infection records for 13 days running. Moscow has been hesitant throughout the pandemic to introduce any restrictions that could hurt the embattled economy. “The healthcare system is coping,” Anna Popova, the head of … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The government’s decision to rebase the economy from the fiscal year 2005-06 to 2015-16 has added Rs3.1 trillion in its value and jacked up last year’s GDP growth to 5.57 from 5.37 per cent. The change in the base-year was welcomed by stakeholders and experts, however, they said that it also exposed the structural … Read more
BEIJING: China will be able to achieve around 5.5 per cent GDP growth this year, and it has room for making macroeconomic policy adjustments to support the economy, experts said on Friday. Zhu Guangyao, former vice-minister of finance, told a news briefing in Beijing that the economy’s potential growth rate will likely be between 5 … Read more
ABU DHABI: The UAE’s largest bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, scooped a record annual net profit of $3.4 billion in 2021, a 19 per cent increase over the previous year, it announced on Thursday. The FAB Group, based in the UAE’s capital, recorded a profit of Dh12.5 billion, up from Dh10.6 billion in 2020, the … Read more
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib on Wednesday termed the growth rate of 5.37 per cent despite huge global challenges as an accomplishment of the incumbent government. In a tweet, the state minister wrote that a sustainable growth rate of 5.37 per cent despite Covid-19, global high inflation, and other economic challenges … Read more
LONDON: Airlines must operate more flights in Britain this summer as demand recovers from the pandemic or lose lucrative take-off and landing slots, the UK government warned on Monday. Carriers operating in Britain are currently using about 50 per cent of their slots as the sector continues to recover from the long-running Covid crisis. This … Read more
KARACHI: A H Group Chairman Yasir Ali Mahsud and Pak World Trade and Expo Centre Founder Chairman Khursheed Barlas signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), where A H Group will sponsor the event of Peshawar International Property Expo being held from February 11 to 13, 2022, a statement said. A H Group also announced another … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s central bank hiked interest rates on Thursday in a bid to tame rampant inflation and discourage consumer spending as the country suffers a foreign currency shortage and teeters on the brink of default. The island nation of around 22 million has seen shortages of food and fuel as well as electricity rationing, … Read more
PARIS: Countries are neglecting the massive impact of the ‘throwaway’ economy on planet-warming emissions, according to research published on Wednesday that calculated more than half a trillion tonnes of virgin materials have been consumed since the 2015 Paris climate deal. From clothing to food, planes to buildings, research by the organisation Circle Economy estimates that … Read more
BEIJING: China’s electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, went up 10.3 per cent year-on-year in 2021, as the country’s economy ended the year with a strong rebound despite sporadic epidemic resurgences. Total power use in China reached 8.31 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2021, data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed. The figure … Read more
HONG KONG: Crude oil hit a more than seven-year high on Tuesday on optimism the global recovery will ramp up demand, but concerns about the end of long-running central bank support and rising Treasury yields saw most equity markets reverse early gains. After an almost uninterrupted rally from the early days of the pandemic, world … Read more
PARIS: After limping its way back from the Covid pandemic last year, the global economic recovery has been rattled by the Omicron variant’s rapid rise. The travel industry has been thrown into disarray again, workers have been forced to isolate at home and governments are facing a stark choice between imposing restrictions or letting the … Read more
