The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has raised its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 16 per cent to ensure that the current high rate of headline inflation (26.6pc) doesn’t become entrenched and “risks to financial stability are contained”. The central bank believes that “the short-term costs of bringing inflation down are lower than the long-term costs of allowing it to become entrenched.” I
By appointing most senior generals for the top military slots, Prime Minister Shehbaz’s government has put to rest unsettling speculations. The real test, however, is on the economic front. Much depends on handling the toxic mix of steep inflation and sagging growth. The latest data tracks inflation at 30.1 per cent year-on-year. The World Bank projected a GDP growth rate of 2.0pc in the curren
Amid rising interest payments and disruptions caused by super floods, Pakistan’s development expenditure has contracted almost 45 per cent to less than Rs99 billion in the first four months (July-October) of the current fiscal year as the government’s overall expenditures increase. According to data released by the Ministry of Planning and Development, total expenditure in the first four months
Struggling to offload cars, Chinese and Korean firms offer attractive packages, discounts • No change for Toyota, Honda and Suzuki; Audi prices fall on expiry of SRO KARACHI: Increase in interest rates, curbs on auto financing and the prevailing political and economic uncertainty have proven to be more turbulent for Korean and Chinese auto assemblers than their Japanese counterparts and are of
Former central bank governor Syed Salim Raza has said Pakistan should avoid going for a “piecemeal restructuring” of its dollar-denominated debt. Speaking at a recent seminar on national economic challenges, the former chief of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that asking one of the many creditors to restructure the debt was “unfair” and tantamount to subsidising the other creditors. “I