Wall Street Bank Citi expects Pakistan to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a new four year of up to $8 billion programme by end-July, and recommends going long on the country’s 2027 international bond. Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3bn programme, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed th
The influential sugar industry is attempting to align bagasse prices, a residue of sugarcane, with coal prices in order to increase them by five to eight times the prevailing value, sources said on Monday.” Bagasse is used as biofuel at the industrial level. Due to the increasing high cost of thermal energy and significant taxes on it, various options are being explored in Pakistan to reduce e
Thanks to a significant drop in the international market, petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices are expected to decrease by about Rs15 and Rs9 per litre on May 15 despite increased import premiums. Informed sources said the prices of petrol and HSD had declined in the international market by about $8.7 and $4.3 per barrel, respectively, in the last fortnight. Depending on the final calculat
Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday kick-started negotiations on 24th ‘longer and larger’ bailout programme, starting with an anticipated upfront fiscal adjustment of more than Rs1.6 trillion (1.5pc of GDP) in the upcoming budget. Pakistani side, led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb comprised Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed, Chairman Federal Board of
In these early signs of economic stability, current policymakers often cite the increase in KSE 100 levels as a sign of investor confidence. While this is correct, many blue-chip companies are trading at a fraction of their peak dollar valuations reached during the MSCI Emerging Market-induced euphoria in 2017, as well as the post-COVID interest rate cut-led rally in the summer of 2021. Can increa