News

World Bank touts more loans despite debt sustainability risks

The World Bank has started marketing more loans to Pakistan with a formal $425 million upfront offer to finance microfinance banks and social sector projects including the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). This was disclosed by the Ministry of Finance after Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar had a meeting with a World Bank team led by its Country Director Najy Binhassine on Mo

Exports of non-textile goods shrink

Pakistan’s exports of non-textile value products saw a contraction in the first half of 2023-24 from a year ago. The negative growth was observed despite an increase in the country’s main exports of textiles and clothing in the same period, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In the July-December period, the exports of leather garments fell by 9.71 per cent year-

Commitment for CPEC success renewed

Pakis­tan and China on Monday renewed their commitment for the success of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the two sides expressed their desire for enhanced cooperation in the areas of information technology, economy, agriculture, and human resource development. Both sides expressed this resolve during a series of meetings of visiting China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong with Pre

Commitment for CPEC success renewed

Pakis­tan and China on Monday renewed their commitment for the success of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the two sides expressed their desire for enhanced cooperation in the areas of information technology, economy, agriculture, and human resource development. Both sides expressed this resolve during a series of meetings of visiting China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong with Pre

A bleak outlook

During the first half of this fiscal year (July-Dec 2023), the current account deficit fell to just $831 million from a whopping $3.63 billion in the same period of last year. Also, net foreign direct investment (FDI) in July-Dec 2023 rose 35 per cent to $862.6m from $640m in July-Dec 2023, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). One can expect a substantial increase in FDI as foreign in