News

Rupee loses more value to the dollar

The rupee depreciated for the 17th consecutive session on Wednesday against the dollar in the interbank market. The currency market players believe that the dollar will continue dominating the local currency in the coming days. The State Bank of Pakistan reported that the greenback appreciated by 27 paise to close at Rs288.14. Currency dealers said there was no change in the market sentiment

Govt okays 40pc tax on banks’ windfall income

The caretaker government imposed a one-off 40 per cent tax on bank profits reaped from foreign exchange transactions in the past two years, a measure the previous coalition administration also considered but failed to implement. The federal cabinet’s approval of the windfall tax came after strong criticism of banks that they had earned a hefty Rs110 billion in profits in 2021 and 2022 from the

Success in IMF review set to unlock $700m

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the first review of a short-term loan deal, which will unlock about $700 million next month. The funds to be issued are a second tranche of the nine-month bailout package and are subject to approval from the IMF’s executive board, the lender said in a statement. This will bring total disbursement

Buying at dips helps index close in green

The trading session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tues­day kicked off on a positive note owing to an all-time-high close a day ago. Topline Securities Ltd said the momentum lost steam as sellers entered the market, leading the KSE-100 index to a rapid 755-point decline. Subsequently, bulls regained control of the trading floor and took advantage of the downswing in share prices. Power, i

Traditional finance hurting environment

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Islamic Finance Director Ghulam Muhammad Abbasi said on Tuesday environmental shocks have destabilised world economies as unchecked production and consumption backed by traditional finance have hurt the planet. Speaking at a two-day International Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance at the Institute of Business Management, Mr Abbasi said asset-backed Islamic fi