The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has allowed additional sugar exports of 150,000 tonnes and approved immediate disbursement of Rs60 billion to the state-run Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to address its liquidity challenges and ensure a smooth supply chain. In a meeting presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday, the committee also decided to discontinue the subsi
Pakistan records over 4.6 million bales of cotton production during the calendar year 2022 against more than 7.3m bales produced during the previous year, a massive shortfall of 37.23 per cent. Market observers put heavy monsoon rains and river floods, which washed away standing crops, particularly in the cotton belts of Sindh and Punjab, as the main reason behind the decline in cotton yield.
A white paper issued by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) comparing the economic performance of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and PTI governments painted a bleak picture of affairs and warned that hyperinflation, coupled with unemployment, could push the country towards “complete anarchy”. Speaking at a ceremony held at Chief Minister’s Secretariat at The Mall via video link, PTI Ch
The cash-starved PMLN-led coalition government on Tuesday borrowed Rs655 billion exceeding the Rs300bn auction target for the treasury bills by 118 per cent without making any upward revision in the cut-off yields. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that the entire amount was raised for a three-month tenor at 16.99 per cent while the bids for six- and 12-month bills were rejected. The
Returns in the stock market have either barely beat inflation or been outright negative for six consecutive years. A portfolio of investment — left untouched since the end of 2016 in the top 100 companies of the stock market — would’ve shrunk by more than 15 per cent in absolute terms over the last six years. Will 2023 be any different? According to Arif Habib Ltd CEO Shahid Ali Habib, tw