Category: Business

KARACHI: Pakistan needs at least $234.5 billion investment by 2030 to deliver on three sustainable development goals (SDGs) — power, digital access, transport and clean water and sanitation. The findings were released by Standard Chartered bank in a report titled “Opportunity 2030: The Standard Chartered SDG Investment Map” to help companies, institutional investors, and other stakeholders ascertain […]

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) held its main policy rate at 13.25 per cent on Tuesday as it juggled competing goals of adding stimulus to the economy and taming inflation. The central bank has held rates at 13.25pc since July, when it took a pause from a series of hikes at a level some businesses […]

The notable progress made so far in ongoing reforms with a myopic approach to achieving macroeconomic stability is now being underlined by a growing perception that the outlook for economic growth is getting murkier. According to the UN report titled “World Economic Situation and Prospects,” Pakistan’s economy is expected to grow at 2.1 per cent […]

WASHINGTON: Pakis­tan’s overall economic freedom score has increased by 0.6 point, with higher scores for judicial effectiveness and property rights outpacing declines in monetary freedom and fiscal health, says a US think-tank report released on Saturday. The Economic Freedom Index 2019, compiled by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, gave Pakistan 55.0 on a scale of 0 […]

Few regulations have been opposed by stockbrokers as vociferously as the proposed New Broker Regime. The two dozen “big brothers” of the fraternity are maintaining a safe distance from the controversy: the proposed regulations do not appear to touch their pockets and, in fact, promises to secure them bigger business. Despite all the wailing and […]

ISLAMABAD: The government has constituted a five-member supervisory board to ensure independent oversight of implementation of National Savings Schemes (AML& CFT) Rules 2019 to comply with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF Plenary and Joint Working Group meetings are scheduled for February 16-21 in Paris to decide Pakistan’s possible exclusion […]

New Delhi intends to sell its entire stake in the debt-crippled national carrier Air India, the government announced on Monday, after failing previously to secure any bids for a majority share. The airline, which owes more than $8 billion, has been struggling to pay salaries and buy fuel, with officials recently warning that it would […]

LAHORE: Any reduction in or removal of taxes imposed on locally assembled cars in the budget for the current fiscal year will not lift the gloom in the country’s automobile industry as the sales have slumped mainly on account of the ongoing drive to document the economy and not owing to the rising prices of […]

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to enhance the exports of engineering sector over the next 10-years by encouraging the capacity of light engineering and consumer items already manufactured locally. Engineering Development Board CEO Raza Abbas acknowledged the demands for a level playing field and incentives by certain industries as justified, but said the business community too should […]

ISLAMABAD: Undeterred by the recent failure of the much hyped Kekra project, the Petroleum Division has sought security clearance of a dozen offshore blocks before inviting international oil and gas exploration and production companies for bidding. A senior government official told Dawn that a list of 12 exploration blocks in the deep and ultra-deep sea […]