News

There is no place like a climate-resilient home

Dorothy would have sought sturdier foundations for her home if she had known about climate change and the subsequent storm that swept her away to the Land of Oz. As the Earth’s atmosphere adapts to climate change, extreme weather anomalies have become rampant, progressively increasing in frequency, severity and mortality rate, especially for low-income families. According to the World Bank’s

HBL wins Best Bank Award 2022

The HBL won the Pakistan’s Best Bank Award 2022 at the Pakistan Banking Awards held here on December 9. The Best Bank Award recognises the bank that has demonstrated the most significant contribution to national development and the most effective management of its resources including their employees, clients, franchise, community, and financials. The Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP) in pa

Adding another $30b to GDP

Pakistan has an enormous untapped resource to boost economic growth significantly. Its two key bases of foreign exchange earnings are exports and remittances. Each one contributes about $30 billion annually. Another source that can contribute an equivalent amount, as per a study by the McKinsey Global Institute, has received little attention. The untapped source is women’s empowerment. Pakis

Regulating genetically modified organisms

Six vessels of genetically modified oilseeds (soybeans and canola) have been stuck at Port Qasim, awaiting clearance from the federal government. This issue has, once again, revived an old debate in the country about regulating genetically engineered/genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as arguably they have potential adverse effects on human health and the environment. GMOs are animals, plan

Pakistan’s macroeconomic mess

Pakistan’s external debt servicing for FY23 stands at 60 per cent of its exports, up from 12pc in FY11. While emerging market economies have seen a similar trend over the past decade, the increase has been relatively modest. For large emerging economies, external debt servicing as a percentage of exports and primary income increased from 12pc in 2011 to 30pc in 2020. The external debt servicing