Pakistan is primarily a consumption-driven economy where the savings rate is just 4.5 per cent of the gross domestic product. This number puts us well behind the South Asian average of 28pc or the low-income group’s 23pc. However, these statistics often miss the massive informal economy that most people in the country turn towards due to the dismal reach of existing financial institutions. R
Technically, Pakistan has not defaulted on its debt because it hasn’t missed — or even delayed — any payment to its creditors. Yet it certainly has fallen into ‘arrears’. For example, last week, the global International Air Transport Association complained that Pakistan was second among the top five markets that have restricted or stopped foreign airlines from repatriating their ticket sales re
The overall business confidence in Pakistan fell to minus four per cent, according to a survey of the Overseas Investors Chambers of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) conducted during September-October 2022. The business confidence score was low — 17pc — in the previous survey of March-April as well, but it was still positive. The OICCI says the decline in business confidence is not surprising “con
After the Supreme Court endorsed a settlement deal worth over $6.5 billion last week, the government on Sunday approved a payment of more than $900 million to the Chilean firm Antofagasta over six years to exit the Reko Diq project. The committee also green-lighted about $1.91bn shareholder financing by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to take the gold and copper mining project forward. The de
Stock prices plummeted on Thursday after bouncing within a small range on the back of a deteriorating macroeconomic situation. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti said the shares market came under pressure as investors reacted to a report by international investment bank JPMorgan, which projected the central bank raising the policy rate by 400 basis points to 20 per cent by the end of 2022-23 amid high infla