The federal cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, on Tuesday deferred the approval of the restructuring plan for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) due to questions regarding the mandate of the caretaker government and the perceived complexity of the proposed scheme. A sub-committee, headed by the finance minister, has been formed to review the restructuring plan a
The Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border, which was shut for 10 days due to the imposition of visa restrictions on truck drivers by Islamabad, was reopened on Tuesday, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The crossing was closed on January 13 after Pakistani officials at the crossing began asking for passports and visas from Afghan drivers under a new policy, prompting a reciprocal ban on Pakistan
The benchmark Karachi Interbank Offered Rate (Kibor) has again started crawling up as chances of a reduction in the key interest rate by the State Bank of Pakistan in its monetary policy review on Jan 29 seem unlikely due to elevated inflationary pressures. Kibor is a market-determined average interest rate at which banks lend to one another in the interbank market. It has stayed higher during
In a significant move towards enhancing the transparency of the foreign exchange market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to introduce a centralised trading platform called ‘FX Matching’, creating a more inclusive digital financial ecosystem. “Effective Jan 29, 2024, it will be mandatory for ADs (banks) to use FX Matching or FXT Dealing for executing outright interbank FX transactio
NayaPay, a local fintech platform, has partnered with international player Alipay+ to provide money transfer services and e-wallets, bank apps to facilitate the incoming foreign exchange flows as well as integrating the cashless payment systems of global markets and Pakistan. NayaPay customers can deploy QR codes compatible with both RAAST and Alipay+ payment partners, and this alliance is spec