Economic hooliganism is commonly perceived to have adverse effects on the country. Pakistan is not less than any other state, as here too, the ministers and their opponents always give statements substantiated with several research reports of their choice and official statistics. The latest figures released by the Ministry of Finance suggests the economic recovery … Read more
LAHORE: Volatile exchange rates, higher markup and the weakening rupee are the key hurdles in tapping the full potential of the Rs20 trillion packaging industry, said Zaki Aijaz Qureshi, director of Roshan Packages Limited. “The manufacturing sector mostly relies on imported raw material and the packaging industry is no exception. Plastic, paper and tinplate packaging … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has received $18 billion as workers’ remittances during the first seven months (July-January) 2021/22, a statement said on Friday. The central bank said that during the first seven months of 2021/22, the remittances have risen to a record $18 billion, 9.1 per cent higher than the same period … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed Rs523 million as monetary penalty on commercial banks for violating regulatory provisions during the first half of fiscal year 2021/22, a statement said. The Central Bank said that it had imposed Rs58 million as penalty on five banks for the quarter ended December 31, 2021. The … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed United Bank Limited (UBL) for due diligence to acquire Telenor Microfinance Bank, a bourse filing said on Tuesday. “The SBP had granted in-principle approval to UBL to commence the due diligence of Telenor Microfinance Bank Limited (TMB) for proposed acquisition of 55 per cent sponsor shares … Read more
KARACHI: Now the government will be forced to go for expensive borrowing from commercial banks for budget financing or any other need as a new controversial law has barred it from obtaining loans from the country’s own central bank. The amendment in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, 1956, through the SBP (Amendment) Act, … Read more
KARACHI: The persistent increase in the cases of coronavirus pandemic has badly affected the entire business chain of Pakistan, especially the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), resulting in an economic crisis-like situation in the country. Most of the enterprises are facing various issues with a certain degree of losses, including decrease in the demand-supply … Read more
LAHORE: Volatile exchange rate and higher inflation are the key challenges for the businesses, said Mian Nauman Kabir, president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Volatile exchange rate is a big challenge. Usually, shipments are received months after placing import orders. Change in the exchange rates squeezes profit margins and in many cases … Read more
The State Bank of Pakistan said on Friday that it had received $1.053 billion from the International Monetary Fund after the successful completion of 6th review of Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme for Pakistan. “Following the successful completion of the 6th review of the IMF program, #SBP has received the next tranche of $1.053 billion,” the … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced a new incentive scheme for the exchange companies with the approval of the federal government. Under the scheme, the exchange companies would be required to surrender 100 per cent of the home remittances mobilised in the interbank market and in return, they will receive Re1 against … Read more
KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country fell $397 million to $22.085 billion by the week ended January 28, 2022, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country stood at $22.482 billion by the week ended January 21, 2022. The official foreign exchange reserves of … Read more
LAHORE: Despite considerable economic growth due to the easy market access in the post-pandemic scenario, e-commerce in Pakistan still remains far below its potential, market players and e-retailers said. The digital economy boomed during the Covid-19 crisis. As people embraced social distancing, they turned to online shopping more than ever before. The market share of … Read more
KARACHI: The surging global crude oil prices are likely to keep the rupee under pressure despite the measure taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to provide support to the local currency. The hike in international oil prices coupled with the declining forex reserves of the country kept the rupee under pressure during the … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) likely to open higher following positive cues from the upcoming IMF programme, analysts said. The witnessed dull trading activities during the week ended January 28, 2022 as the investors remained concerned over the uncertainty regarding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $1 billion tranche along with rising oil prices in … Read more
LAHORE: Speakers at a seminar have stressed the need of devising a strategy for facing the challenges of economic warfare, a statement said on Friday. “Trade embargoes, economic sanctions, tariff discrimination, freezing of capital assets, suspension of aid and prohibition of investment are some of the common tools of economic warfare,” they said while speaking … Read more
KARACHI: The exchange rate ended unchanged on Thursday, as the dollar was being traded at Rs176.98, which was the previous day’s closing at the interbank foreign exchange market, dealers said. The market witnessed high dollar demand for import and corporate payments; however, the banks provided sufficient dollars against the demand to keep the rupee value … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee declined 25 paisas against the dollar on Monday, amid high demand for the foreign currency for external payments, dealers said. The rupee ended at Rs176.49 against the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs176.24 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The dealers said the dollar demand remained high during the day … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has won the Best Central Bank of 2021 award for promoting Islamic finance, a statement said. The Islamic Finance News (IFN), an arm of RED money Group, Malaysia, announced the SBP as the best central bank of 2021 across the world in promoting Islamic finance. The results of … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee is expected to remain stable next week on the back of the measures introduced by the central bank to ensure realisation of export receipts within 120 days. The State Bank of Pakistan on January 5, 2022 directed the exporters to realise their export receipts within 120 days from the date of shipment … Read more
KARACHI: The pharmaceutical imports, including Covid vaccines surged 475 per cent to $3 billion during the first six months of the current fiscal year, compared with $539 million in the same period of the last year, according to the data issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). “The government is currently importing Covid-19 vaccines … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has digitalised the process for obtaining refinance by banks under the Export Finance Scheme (EFS), a statement said. The SBP on Wednesday said it had digitalised the process of obtaining refinance by the banks under the Export Finance Scheme (EFS) for both conventional and Shariah-compliant versions. Digitalisation of … Read more
Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar on Tuesday said that it had become essential for the government to introduce a law to make the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) autonomous to stop political infiltration. The Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Energy Minister Hammad Azhar addressed a presser after the cabinet meeting. The energy minister said … Read more
KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has urged the ministry of commerce to facilitate barter trade with Iran as trade ties are re-established between the commerce ministries of both countries, a statement said on Monday. Unisame president Zulfikar Thaver apprised that Iran is ready to buy big quantities of different varieties of … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee gained 15 paisas against the dollar on Monday, as holiday in the US markets lowered the foreign currency demand in the domestic market, dealers said. The interbank foreign exchange market ended at Rs175.92 against the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs176.07. The dealers said the US markets were observing the holiday … Read more
KARACHI: Pakistan’s economy brushed aside the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as it registered a robust growth of 4.5 per cent in 2021, a latest UN report revealed. At the same time, the global body advised the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to assess the magnitude and timing of the monetary policy to support … Read more
KARACHI: Import restrictions introduced through the Finance Supplementary Bill is expected to help the rupee remain stable next week. However, a surge in the international oil prices may prove otherwise. The National Assembly on January 13, 2022 approved the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021. Through the legislation, the government withdrew exemptions and concessions worth Rs343 billion. … Read more
KARACHI: The foreign exchange reserves of the country fell $118 million to $23.901 billion by the week ended January 7, 2022, the central bank reported on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $24.019 billion by the week ended December 31, 2021. The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan rupee recorded a slight gain on Tuesday on improved dollar supply in the market, dealers said. The local currency gained 5 paisas to end at Rs176.63 against the last day’s closing of Rs176.68 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The dealers said the local rupee maintained its level, as the banks received … Read more
