The government has increased the prices of wheat flour, sugar and ghee by 25 to 62 per cent for sale through the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) with immediate effect to reduce the impact of untargeted subsidies. The beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) would be exempt from the price increase, while the limit for subsidised purchases from the USC has also been curtailed
Amid a revenue setback in December and higher expenditure, mostly for debt servicing, the government plans to borrow a record Rs4.8 trillion in the first three months of 2023 through market treasury bills (MTBs). According to the auction target calendar issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on New Year’s Eve on Saturday, it will hold a total of seven auctions beginning Jan 3 (tomorrow) — a
Share prices rebounded on Thursday as investors scooped up value-yielding stocks. Arif Habib Ltd said the benchmark index traded in the green territory throughout the day as participation from investors remained on the higher side. The stock market witnessed some volatility during the last trading hour, but healthy volumes were still recorded across the board. “The market is expected to be v
WHEN I wrote my columns on the six pillars for growth, people pointed out areas I had missed, including privatisation of state-owned enterprises. Since most SOEs lose money, I thought this topic was covered under the pillar of prudent fiscal and exchange policies. Upon further reflection, however, I should have added privatisation as a separate pillar required for growth. Here it is. Before dis
PAKISTAN is one of the few countries that pushes its top talent to leave their motherland. This has been happening since independence but the year 2022 has witnessed the highest number in the country’s 75-year history. It is estimated that around 765,000 people left Pakistan in 2022, including 92,000 highly educated individuals such as doctors, engineers, computer scientists, business executive