India and Russia are discussing a free trade agreement (FTA), the Russian trade minister said on Monday, an announcement that could deepen bilateral commercial ties that have flourished since war broke out in Ukraine. The FTA talks mark a step-up in economic relations between the two countries despite calls from Western countries for India to gradually distance itself from its dominant weapons
Large-scale manufacturing (LSM) shrank 11.6 per cent in February over the same month last year causing massive layoffs, especially in export-oriented textile industries, showed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The slowdown in industrial output is mainly contributed to the textile and clothing industries because exports from the sector posted double-digit declines. I
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are buying petroleum products from Russia at steep discounts, ignoring US objections, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday. Last year, the United States and its Western partners imposed strict sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine, cutting off Moscow from its traditional trading partners. This has forced Russia to sell its products
Thriving smuggling has wiped out steel bar manufacturing in Balochistan rendering thousands of workers jobless. In a letter Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) Secretary General Syed Wajid Bukhari on Monday informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that over 80pc steel bars sold in Balochistan were coming from Iran through smuggling, misdeclaration and under-invoicing. Due to
The stock market commenced the trading week on a negative note mainly because of uncertainty over the resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. Arif Habib Ltd said the positive statement issued by the IMF’s director for the Middle East and Central Asian department about a staff-level agreement with Pakistan helped restore some confidence in the market. Additionally, Paki