KARACHI: The Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) posted earnings of Rs18.2 billion, which is 28 per cent higher, compared with the previous year’s Rs14.21 billion, a statement said on Thursday. The earnings per share of the bank also grew to Rs10.24 during the year under review, compared with the previous year, according to analysts at AKD … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee tumbled to an all-time low of Rs255.43 against the dollar on Thursday after recording a historic single day fall of Rs24.54 at the closing of the interbank foreign exchange market, dealers said. The local currency depreciated against the greenback after the government agreed to the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) … Read more
KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has said that imports and exports are like warp and weft of an economy and both considered favourable when more or less equal. If the imports of essential raw materials are discouraged or curbed, it will reflect on exports, a statement said. Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed the IT exporters to retain up to 35 per cent of the export proceeds in their foreign currency accounts, a statement issued by the central bank said. To facilitate the exporters of software, IT and IT-enabled services, the SBP amended its foreign exchange regulations, advising the … Read more
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have decided to take joint action against illegal foreign exchange operators. A high-level meeting was held on Tuesday between the Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), said a statement by the central bank. The meeting … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee continued its downward trend, as it declined to Rs221.92 against the dollar, amid deteriorating economic conditions of the country, dealers said. The local unit shed Rs1.26 to close at Rs221.92 to the dollar from Friday’s closing of Rs220.66 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The analysts said that the latest decline in … Read more
State Bank of Pakistan has produced films in national and regional languages to educate farmers. Lower 15-year yields Farmers don’t grasp ag finance, hurting rural banks. Next two movies discuss agricultural loan items, processes, and documentation. SBP has released movies in national and regional languages regarding agriculture finance products and procedures to educate farmers, especially … Read more
Sri Lanka’s government would require at least $5 billion over the next six months to maintain basic living standards. The island nation is facing its worst economic downturn in seven decades. A lack of foreign exchange is preventing importation of crucial products such as fuel, medicine, and fertiliser. COLOMBO: Sri Lanka cash-strapped government would require … Read more
Amid developing doubts over the USA’s capability to cope with external responsibilities with its foreign exchange reserves spent right down to naked bones, Pakistan’s sovereign bond yields have surged sharply. “Since December 2021, Pakistan’s International Bond yields have spiked drastically. Moreover, with dwindling reserves, one most important situation is repayment of a bond worth $1 … Read more
Investors digested a spate of company results on Thursday, and shrugged off a worse-than-expected US economic downturn. In foreign exchange, the dollar traded around 20-year peaks versus the yen and at the highest level in more than five years against the euro as the Federal Reserve aggressively hikes US interest rates. Trading is volatile across major … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee’s three day winning streak ended on Thursday as it declined 42 paisas against the dollar amid gloomy economic situation in the country, dealers said. The local currency shed 42 paisas to close at Rs185.87 to the dollar from the previous day’s closing of Rs185.45 in the interbank foreign exchange market. Although … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee gained 70 paisas against the dollar on Monday after Pakistan’s talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) showed progress, dealers said. The local unit closed at Rs186.05 against the greenback from Saturday’s closing of Rs186.75 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The IMF … Read more
Sri Lanka’s unheard of shortages of meals, fuel, and essential drugs will worsen earlier than a global bailout is negotiated, its finance minister warned Friday as inflation hit some other record excessive. Ali Sabry, who is in Washington for talks with global lenders, said an IMF bailout may additionally take months, however, he becomes in … Read more
COLOMBO: The International Monetary Fund warned crisis-hit Sri Lanka on Thursday that its foreign debt was ‘unsustainable’, and called for devaluation and higher taxes to revive the almost bankrupt economy. The pandemic pushed the South Asian Island’s tourism sector, a key foreign-exchange earner, off a cliff, and the government in March 2020 imposed a broad … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s public transport was crippled on Wednesday as buses ran out of diesel, officials said as the country’s foreign exchange crisis worsened with no dollars to import fuel. The Private Bus Owners’ Association said they were able to operate only about a quarter of their fleet of 20,000 vehicles, while drivers reported queuing for … Read more
KARACHI: The Habib Bank Limited (HBL) on Thursday declared 13 per cent growth in its net profit for the year ended December 31, 2021, a bourse filing said. The profit-after -tax of the bank increased to Rs35 billion for the year under review, compared with Rs30.89 billion in the preceding year. The bank declared the … Read more
KARACHI: The Customs Intelligence and Investigation (I&I), Karachi has unearthed cases of trade-based money laundering ahead of a review meeting on Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF retained Pakistan in the grey list in its last meeting held in October 2021 till the next meeting scheduled for February 2022. Sources in … Read more
KARACHI: As Pakistan received $18 billion in remittances during the first seven months of FY22, experts and economists believe the country is likely to manage its widening current account deficit, if the trend persists. However, they said Pakistan needs to curtail its swelling import bill, boost its exports and attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday enhanced the scope of the Export Finance Scheme (EFS) to facilitate exporters and encourage timely inflow of foreign exchange, a statement said. The central bank enhanced the scope of EFS of both conventional as well as Sharia based, allowing the exporters to obtain financing against their … 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
KARACHI: The government should aim to create self-sufficiency in food and chemicals to reduce dependency on drastically increasing imports, an official said on Monday. Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) president Zulfikar Thaver said, “Self-sufficiency is the best answer in the present situation for a burdened and indebted economy. The heavy imports are consuming … Read more
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has made it mandatory for the exchange companies to provide details of failed transactions to prevent misuse of foreign exchange regime. In this regard, the apex tax body issued SRO 50 (I)/2022 to make it mandatory for the foreign exchange dealers and companies to report the failure of … Read more
KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country plummeted by $551 million to $23.35 billion by the week ended January 14, 2022, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were at $23.901 billion by the week ended January 7, 2022. The official reserves of the … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan rupee’s stability is linked with the international oil prices and the demand for the dollars for export payments next week, as the foreign exchange reserves of the country is on the decline, analysts said. The international oil prices are on the rise for the last couple of days, while the external payments … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made it mandatory for exporters to bring export proceeds within 120 days of the shipment, a statement said on Wednesday. With an objective to improve the timely inflow of foreign exchange from exports proceeds in the market, it had amended foreign exchange regulations requiring exporters to bring … Read more
KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have slipped $360 million to $24.273 billion by the week ended December 24, 2021, the central bank reported on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country stood at $24.633 billion by the week ended December 17, 2021. The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank … Read more
International ratings agency Fitch downgraded cash-strapped Sri Lanka on Saturday by one notch to ‘CC’ due to mounting fears of a sovereign default on its $26 billion foreign debt. The downgrade came a day after Sri Lanka reported a 1.5 per cent contraction in the third quarter of this year, as a foreign exchange crisis … Read more
LAHORE: Urea industry’s role in Pakistan, being an agrarian state with 20 per cent GDP contribution and around 70 per cent of the total population depending on agriculture for its livelihood, has been pivotal. Prior to 1980/81, Pakistan imported over 50 per cent of its annual fertiliser requirements and had been a net importer till 2012. … Read more
