By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has tapped the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Counter-Cyclical Facility (CFC) to get $1.5 to $2 billion additional budgetary support loan in two months to prop up its fast-depleting foreign currency reserves, the IP learnt.
Economy
Remittances hit all-time monthly high of $3.1bln in April
By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Remittances from Pakistani workers employed abroad rose to a record monthly high of $3.1 billion in April, 11.9 percent higher than a year earlier, the central bank said on Friday.
LEADERSHIP HUDDLE: PM Shehbaz Sharif with elder brother Nawaz Sharif and other party leaders at London on May 11, 2022. Photo courtesy of Khwaja Saad Rafique’s Twitter handle
Who is running Pakistan’s economic policy?
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic woes are complicating the situation of the country’s external obligations, owing chiefly to a lack of clarity as to who is the ultimate authority on key policy decisions confronting the economy.
OFFICIAL SEAL: Image courtesy IMF official website
Crucial IMF-Pakistan talks in Doha soon
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and Pakistanis officials will meet in Doha, Qatar on May 18 to restart talks over a stalled $6 billion program, senior officials said on Monday.
Trade deficit up sharply on record high goods imports
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The trade deficit widened sharply in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as goods imports surged to a record high, suggesting that trade likely remained a drag on economic growth in the last quarter.
Telecoms move SBP to undo cash margins on hardware imports
Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Telecom and IT industries have pleaded with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to reverse 100 percent cash margins on the import of nearly all those critically-important equipment that could not be procured domestically.
Power tariffs hiked again
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Friday raised Rs2.86 and Rs1.38 per unit for consumers as fuel adjustment cost (FCA) for Ex-Wapda Discos and K-Electric (KE) respectively, which would be applicable in May 2022 bills.
Image courtesy APTMA official website
APTMA scales back cotton support price to Rs7,000/maund
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The country’s textile sector has scaled back its demand for a cotton (Phutti) support price of Rs8,000/maund (40kg) by Rs1,000 for 2022-23 season to ease some pressure off the economically-challenged government, it said on Wednesday.
Two-day weekend to save 900MW of power per day
The government is on the cusp of restoring a two-day weekend as the country remains in a tight energy spot, whereas officials have crunched out numbers that strongly suggest the power saved as a result will help reduce load shedding, it is learnt.
Saudi help shot in arm for Pak economy
Saudi commitments of help aggregating to $4.2 billion following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the Kingdom have come as a shot in the arm at a difficult time for Pakistan’s battered economy.