KARACHI: Moody’s Investors Service has revised its outlook on Pakistan’s banking sector to stable from positive, reflecting a gradual economic recovery coupled with persistent challenges to asset quality and profitability.
Economy
Pakistan plans $1 bln AI investment by 2030
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday the government would invest $1 billion in artificial intelligence by 2030 as part of efforts to build a domestic AI ecosystem and equip the country’s youth for a digital economy.
Govt moves to impose fixed power fees on households to fund industrial relief
ISLAMABAD: The government is pushing ahead with a plan to slap monthly fixed charges on millions of residential electricity users, aiming to generate about Rs125 billion to underwrite a tariff cut for hard-pressed industries without busting its budget commitments to the International Monetary Fund, dawn newspaper reported on Saturday.
Pakistan, Uzbekistan sign trade protocol, target $2 bln bilateral trade in five years
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed a protocol on Thursday aiming to boost bilateral trade to $2 billion within five years, part of a broader package of agreements struck during Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s two-day visit to Islamabad.
World Bank’s Banga warns Pakistan faces instability without 30 million new jobs
KARACHI: Pakistan must generate as many as 30 million jobs over the next decade to harness its surging youth population as an engine of growth or face heightened risks of domestic unrest and a brain drain abroad, World Bank President Ajay Banga said.
Power users set to pay higher bills as regulator weighs quarterly tariff hike
ISLAMABAD: Electricity consumers are poised to face an additional 42 paise per unit in their bills from April through June, driven largely by capacity payments to power producers during the October-December quarter of fiscal 2026.
FBR hints at instalment recovery of Rs217 billion super tax arrears
ISLAMABAD: The government has signalled willingness to recover around Rs217 billion in super tax arrears through instalments to ease pressure on businesses, as an International Monetary Fund review mission prepares to visit later this month amid assurances of no external financing shortfall, Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday.
Federal govt rebuffs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s bid for extra funds to aid displaced families
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has rejected a plea from the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Rs10.4 billion in additional funding to cover costs tied to resettling people displaced by security operations in Bajaur and the Tirah Valley, instructing the provincial administration instead to draw from its own coffers amid tight national finances, Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Export demand puts Pakistan’s JF-17 production to the test – report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is grappling with a sudden wave of interest in its JF-17 fighter jet from at least five countries, a development that could overwhelm the production lines of its joint venture with China, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
Exports recover in January but trade deficit remains high at $2.72 billion
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit widened sharply in the first seven months of the fiscal year, driven by a surge in imports and a drop in exports, according to official data released on Monday, showing persistent pressures on the country’s external accounts amid economic challenges.